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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25195369">the laughter that echoed in my memory</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/immasohai/pseuds/immasohai'>immasohai</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Johnny Suh and Lee Taeyong are just friends, Kinda, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan &amp; Mark Lee Are Best Friends, Lee Taeyong Being an Asshole, Lee Taeyong Needs a Hug, Lee Taeyong is Bad at Feelings, Lee Taeyong-centric, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mystery, Platonic Relationships, Protective Lee Taeyong, Romantic or platonic, Temporary Amnesia, but could be seen as, this is a random idea I had, up to you, wasnt going to post but oh well</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:14:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>26,059</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25195369</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/immasohai/pseuds/immasohai</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The last clear memory Taeyong had of his past was waking up on the side of the street in the rain.</p>
<p>He was all alone, the sky was dark. </p>
<p>He remembered feeling empty as the cold drops hit his face, the lights of the city distantly shining above him. </p>
<p>The only sound was the soft plip of rain on the road. Anything before that moment was lost to him. </p>
<p>How he ended up there, what he would do next, he didn’t care, only the sound of someone’s laughter seemed to echo inside his head.</p>
<p>——————</p>
<p>This is a futuristic AU I made up where the story takes place in 2119 Seoul. Taeyong is like a hitman of sorts that takes on basically any job people ask of him. He does it all with no emotion and no care other than finishing it until one day that starts to change.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Taeyong, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Taeyong/Everyone, Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Mark Lee/Lee Taeyong</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Mysterious Client</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hiiiii so this is really bad hahaha and I haven’t gotten the chance to edit it yet as I’m still writing it currently, but I wanted to post what I have to try and motivate myself. Comments are always welcome because I don’t really know what I’m doing lol</p>
<p>Anyways enjoy :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The neon lights of Seoul’s city skyline were blinding to Taeyong. The constant flurry of colors racing by only reminded him that this was a normal Friday night for everyone else. In the year 2119, anything was but normal for Taeyong. The people were able to live their life without the knowledge of anything sinister happening in this city advertised as a utopia. He stood on the building ledge allowing a small part of himself to enjoy the brisk night breeze on his face before he had to put the sweaty mask on again.</p>
<p>The familiar hum of a perimeter drone became more and more apparent behind him and Taeyong knew now was the time to leave. Taking one last look at the city’s capitol tower, standing cold and tall among the rest of the glass spiraling buildings, he pressed the eject button on his face mask and took a deep breath as the all too familiar HUD began to take over his sight. Small points of light surveyed his surroundings highlighting the fastest route to take, any suspicious movements or devices, hidden cameras, location facts, etc. A beeping near his ear warned him of the approaching drone coming within five meters of his rooftop. Taeyong clicked on his gloves and boots and jumped off the edge before the white spotlight could catch him.</p>
<p>The before comfortable chilling night air was now ice cold as the wind blew against Taeyong during his fall. The bright city lights suddenly vanished as he got closer and closer to the ground. A second before hitting the black concrete below, Taeyong activated his gloves and boots, immediately sending a shot of an invisible force between him and the earth. Slowing his fall in a split second, he landed with both feet firmly on the ground. If he hadn’t been doing this for the past ten years of his life, shattered knees would have definitely had to be dealt with. Without missing a beat, taeyong sprints off into the pitch black alley way of a building a few blocks down. As soon as he was in its vicinity, the cool blue lights of his bike guided Taeyong to where he had parked it. He climbed on the back and silently rode off into the empty streets.</p>
<p>All he wanted was to go back to his small apartment and sleep everything off, but he knew that wasn’t happening as soon as a new alert pinged in the corner of his display. A new client applying for his services. Taeyong checked the time. 22:36. He had time before the night was over. Withholding a frustrated groan, Taeyong changed the coordinates of his destination. Instead of heading to the minimal comfort of his apartment and now into a dark outside district of Seoul. He knew he didn’t have to accept the job, he’s made enough from the last two to be fine for the next three weeks, but Taeyong had never declined a job and he wasn’t going to start now just because he was tired. What else was he gonna do, go home and sleep the next three weeks?</p>
<p>No, Taeyong would rather be running the rest of his life. His work was the only worth he had in life, but it was starting to feel like he had lost the point in doing it. Refusing to think further on the subject, Taeyong wiped his mind clear of any plaguing doubts and focused on the road in front of him.</p>
<p>Pulling up to the building he was told to meet at, Taeyong turned off his bike and set it to ghost mode before scanning the front entrance. Every little security camera was found within seconds and terminated thanks to Taeyong’s mask as he quietly entered through the sliding glass doors. The interior of the building was as cold as the outside. No light was able to penetrate the darkened windows so Taeyong’s mask displayed the environment through a blue filter, allowing him to see clearly his surroundings but also giving him a subtle edge of dread with each step further into the room.</p>
<p>The alert from the client told him to come to this specific location on the 27th floor and offered a reward triple the amount of his usual jobs. Aside from that, Taeyong had no idea what to expect. As he climbed further up the seemingly never-ending staircase taeyong sucked in a breath to keep his heart rate down. He hated feeling like this, the weakness, especially when he should be used to any situation anyone could think to put him through, but for some reason before every job recently he felt this way. The weakness that seemed to want to wrench his heart out of his chest every step higher he climbed. Taeyong once again steeled his nerves and distanced himself completely from any and all anxiety he felt, allowing the numbing feeling to wash over him as it had done so many times before. It wouldn’t be good to meet his client with a trembling hand, so better to not feel anything at all. This was another one of Taeyong’s special skills he had come to rely on heavily during the years he spent alone on the streets. Thinking of nothing but the mission ahead, he walked up the 27 flights of concrete stairs in the dark.</p>
<p>It looked like the building was completely abandoned and it was quite old as well judging by how it still had emergency staircases that weren’t used in buildings for decades. Waste of space. Deep layers of dust had settled on every surface, cobwebs littered the ceiling, but no sign of any past human activity was present. The door to the 27th floor was made of thick iron, the one thing between Taeyong and his destination. With another quick scan of the door and discovering no further security devices, Taeyong grasped the metal handle and with a hard shove managed to scrape the door open wide enough to slip by. What greeted him was a long hallway with a single door at the end of it. Although he moved with almost complete silence he still felt the vibrations of each footstep making contact with the floor, the sound of his breath as it filtered through the mask with acute awareness, even the high pitched whine of the rusty hinges on the door still echoed through his mind endlessly. The door seemed to loom over him as his fingers grasped the handle. With no alerts from his display, he entered the room, this time with no grating against the floor as the door swung inwards smooth as honey.</p>
<p>This room was empty like the rest, but the atmosphere was different. A singular light stood in the corner, but the darkness of the room drowned out what little warmth it gave. A single window stood directly across from the door, the only other exit. A tall figure stood by it waiting. Taeyong took all this in within a second and stood standing in the doorway until the figure decided to acknowledge his presence.</p>
<p>“Always the hesitant type, huh?” The deep gravelly voice of the man finally filled the cold air as he turned around from the window, facing Taeyong. After a couple seconds of staring, his lips turned up in an amused smirk and he took a step forward. “Maybe not hesitant, smart seems more like it.” The man stated.</p>
<p>The light from the corner of the room barely managed to paint the man with an unnatural orange glow. Taeyong couldn’t seem to make out what the man’s face looked like, his mask for some reason blurring out the display. This wasn’t right, nothing could interfere with his device except him, but here it was glitching all over the screen. Trying to keep his frustration from showing through to his face, Taeyong calmly ejected his mask from his face and watched as it shrunk back into the capsule in his ear. This did little to help the situation though as the face of the man was still too dim for his vision to pick up. He watched as the man studied him, waiting for some kind of response from Taeyong, but he held his tongue.</p>
<p>“You know, you’re pretty famous around here, Lee. Hundreds of jobs done for enemies and friends alike and without getting caught, quite impressive I must say,” the man clicked his tongue as he walked back to the window, “I have a job for you that might not prove as easy, but you seem to be the person who can handle it.”</p>
<p>The man made Taeyong’s heart beat faster for some reason. His very presence was enough to make Taeyong feel slippery in his ability to control the fear in his heart. Why, now? This never happened before.</p>
<p>A chuckle made Taeyong hold his breath.</p>
<p>“Are you willing to accept my offer, Lee?”</p>
<p>“As long as you pay, I’ll do whatever you want.” Taeyong replied monotonously. Contrasting his rapid heartbeat, his voice came out deep and strong which he was grateful for.<br/>The man laughed again, “That’s what I wanted to hear! Now there is a subject I need taken and returned back to me. I’ll send you its location.” He paused as if thinking deliberately about what he was going to say next, “I am hiring you because I need this done silently. If anyone finds out about this, you must terminate the subject immediately. Understood?”</p>
<p>Taeyong nodded. Subject usually meant person. A standard retrieval job, simple enough.</p>
<p>“I’ll send you more information once you reach the destination. Be aware that using force is necessary in order to complete the job. If you fail,” He breathed out through gritted teeth, “If you fail there will be consequences.” The man finished.<br/>For some reason he felt a shiver down his spine. By the high price the strange man was offering, and his attitude in general, Taeyong could tell this was an important client. One that could ultimately decide whether he got back to his apartment later or ended up dead in a ditch somewhere. With a final nod, Taeyong left the room and ejected his mask once more. The strange blurring effect that had taken over before was now gone as he quietly walked back through the dark hallway.</p>
<p>Once finally out of the building, Taeyong let out a sigh of relief, much to his chagrin. This weakness he felt was getting worse every job he completed, which was going to be a problem in the future. He missed back in the early days when he was able to enter a dark room with no tremble in his step and even find some form of excitement in jobs as he stole, destroyed, and even killed for his clients. He didn’t know why this was happening now and he hated it. Taeyong made a mental note to find a way to stop feeling this way before his next job.<br/>The wind blowing against his face as he flew down the road toward the subject’s destination gave him a moment of reprieve. His bike was one of the most precious things he owned. He remembered how many jobs he had worked in order to save up enough to buy the sleek black machine when he was only 19, but it was worth it the moment he got to fly down the empty night roads of the city.</p>
<p>The route on his display was leading him to another distant district of the city, towards the old abandoned detention house. After the revolt in 2086, the city had a mass evacuation as new systems were reinstated, allowing the population to be thoroughly controlled. This is what left entire sectors of Seoul completely uninhabited. Taeyong was born in 2095, so he had no memory of life before the mysterious dictator took over, but for once, he was grateful because it allowed him to travel to every part of Seoul with no need to watch his back from perimeter drones 24/7. The added citywide curfew helped greatly, as well.</p>
<p>Following the white line stretching out across the road, Taeyong allowed himself to melt into the rhythm of the engine and empty his mind of any fears starting to lay their sickness on his heart.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Warehouse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>He allowed himself a long inhale, short exhale, focusing all his attention onto what lay in front of him before kicking the boxes across the floor with all his strength. A bright flash of red heat entered his vision as the subject’s hiding place became exposed. Turning his display off and not wasting a second, Taeyong pounced and shoved his pistol right into the faces of his targets, two petrified looking boys who couldn’t have been older than seventeen. His aim faltered. What Taeyong’s mysterious client had failed to mention was that this subject was a plural.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’ve written a couple chapters ahead at this point, and I’m trying to have the whole thing finished by the 19th. Any suggestions are welcome.</p><p>Sorry the chapters are kind of short haha</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The place he finally arrived at was much different than before. Instead of the usual sleek modern buildings that made up Seoul, Taeyong ended up at a low to the Earth, looking to collapse in on itself at any second, abandoned warehouse. It almost felt as if he wasn’t in the city at all with the faint glow of the city skyline in the distance being the only source of light for miles. Once more, Taeyong hid his bike under some overgrowth and set it to ghost mode before surveying the perimeter of the warehouse. To his surprise, there was absolutely no sign of any security cameras or surveillance drones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s a first, Taeyong thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Along the edge of the building was a rusted chain-link fence acting as a poor barrier between intruders and whatever lay waiting inside. Taeyong easily managed to find a section completely torn down from the rest and he quickly snuck through with no trouble at all. The whole situation was unsettling. The high pay and mysterious client did not add up to a job that might as well be a grocery run for Taeyong with the lack of problems he had run into thus far. That either meant whoever he was supposed to “pick up” would give him a run for his money, or the real challenge would be getting them back. Both didn’t seem like good options to Taeyong, but he prepared himself for the worst as he climbed up to a wide windowsill in the cracked concrete building. Jagged edges around the mouth of the window was all that was left of the giant glass pane making up a majority of the wall. Taeyong had no problem getting in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Landing on the balls of his feet, Taeyong melted into the dark shadows of the wide open space, avoiding the faint light shining across the floor from the broken window. He silently made his way around the edge of the room, being careful of stepping over the countless boxes and broken glass scattered about the floor. It almost didn’t feel like he was indoors at that point. The ceiling stretched high above him due to the sunken ground level of the warehouse and there was an entire side of the building that was missing, completely collapsed due to some unknown cause. This absence of closed space made Taeyong feel the need to slip deeper into the darkness, as if just walking further into the room would expose his presence to some waiting terror. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt like hours had passed as Taeyong finally circled the entire room, surveying every corner, every row of empty metal shelves placed seemingly at random throughout the area. Whoever he was supposed to take would be somewhere in this room, that was the only info Taeyong had received from his client. There was a chance whoever was here could have heard him and ran off, but if there was one thing Taeyong was good at, it was his job. He knew he had been completely silent, not to mention he could hear as quiet as the breathing of a mouse with his mask on and senses attuned to everywhere around him. In addition to the vast open space of the warehouse, that was just not an option. Whoever was here was hiding from him somewhere within the destruction of bricks, boxes, shelves, and destroyed merchandise. Taeyong switched on his thermal display and became immersed in a deep blue environment. His hands and feet in front of him shone a bright red but everywhere else remained cold and dead. Circling once again, there was no difference in color, but then he heard it. The peek of a shadow in the reflection of moonlight on the broken glass, a quick quiet exhale. Body tingling and alert, Taeyong honed in on his target, a pile of boxes in the corner of the room. He had passed by those boxes twice before, but clearly he hadn’t been looking in the right place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like a tiger stalks its prey, Taeyong silently crept toward the metal boxes, another hushed inhale of breath reaching his ears. The deep cold blue was all he could see around him, but he didn’t doubt for a second that the person he was looking for was hiding there. As he silently walked only inches away from the pile of boxes, it felt as if the world was suddenly holding its breath. An uncanny stillness that made Taeyong’s heart race. Quiet, absolute quiet. Drawing his pistol from his side, Taeyong positioned it in front of him, preparing for some level of intense resistance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He allowed himself a long inhale, short exhale, focusing all his attention onto what lay in front of him before kicking the boxes across the floor with all his strength. A bright flash of red heat entered his vision as the subject’s hiding place became exposed. Turning his display off and not wasting a second, Taeyong pounced and shoved his pistol right into the faces of his targets, two petrified looking boys who couldn’t have been older than seventeen. His aim faltered. What Taeyong’s mysterious client had failed to mention was that this subject was a plural.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong had done plenty of child kidnapping or returning runaway children jobs before, but they always left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. Never, though, had he been so close to his victims. Normally, he was able to complete the mission without even interacting with the subject besides sedation and transportation, but nothing about this situation was normal. He found himself staring straight into the brown eyes of the boys from behind his black mask. Fear was radiating off of them in waves as they huddled together on the floor, shaking either from shock or the cold or both. Taeyong quickly analyzed his next move, now sure that they weren’t going to be much of a fight. The older one, or the one Taeyong assumed was older, had black hair and was sheltering the other in his arms, as if that would save him from a shot from Taeyong’s gun. The other was now hiding his face in the other boy’s shoulder, but Taeyong could see soft brown locks even in the darkness of the warehouse. They were both small and very skinny, probably malnourished. That made his job easy, which again gave him another wave of dread. He could have them debilitated and tied up before they could comprehend what was happening, but something was holding him back. It was the look of the boy with black hair. His eyes were full of fear but there was something deeper, barely concealed rage that seemed to strike Taeyong back a step. The boy continued to glare into the blank mask covering Taeyong’s face, but Taeyong felt as if he was looking straight into his eyes, a final desperate plea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A dull pain started at the base of Taeyong’s skull. He stepped closer to the boys, grabbing the older one’s wrist in his icy grip, but they made no move to escape. The boy only strengthened his fiery glare toward Taeyong and the dull pain became more of a throbbing one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What is wrong with me, Taeyong thought, sweat starting to bead on his forehead. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this way on a job and just his luck, too, because this one could decide if he lived to get his next paycheck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The older one suddenly shot his hand up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! What are you—“ Taeyong shouted, before he felt a rough pull on his ear and suddenly he had whiplash. The force of the grab made Taeyong loosen his grip on the boy’s arm and he was left standing in confusion as the world became incredibly darker. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy had pulled out his mask capsule from his ear. He had known how to deactivate the mask. Taeyong only had two seconds to process that he was without his night vision, display targeting aid, and basic facial disguise before he startled into action. The two kids had started running away as fast as they could, but Taeyong caught up to them easily. Even though his eyes were still straining to see in the darkness, he relied on his muscle memory as he brought a swift kick to the back of their knees, forcing them to fall to the ground with a heavy thud. Then he grabbed their elbows and twisted their arms behind them so they had no choice but to stay still without breaking a bone. Taeyong towered over them, breathing easily. The brown haired boy had started crying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want with us? Who sent you?” The surprisingly strong voice of the older one yelled out beneath Taeyong’s hold. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong didn’t answer, it wasn’t wise to communicate with the subject, but it was getting harder to ignore the pain spreading from the base of his skull. Holding the younger one down easily with his foot, Taeyong flipped the other from his stomach to his back and brought a knee against his throat. The boy’s face was extremely panicked as he tried to hide the involuntary expression of pain from his face. Then, something unexplainable happened. The moment the boy steeled his eyes for another glare aimed at Taeyong, his eyes suddenly widened. Another emotion bloomed across his face, what was it, surprise? Familiarity?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy’s composure was immediately lost as it seemed all his determination was suddenly drained and Taeyong took that opportunity to roughly secure a tighter hold on the two. It was for nothing but inducing more fear, however, as it seemed both boys had now completely stopped struggling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong pushed his knee more forcefully into the black haired boy’s neck. “Tae—Taeyong…” the weaker voice of the boy cried out as he gasped with the increasing weight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong stopped suddenly. The pain in his head felt like it would consume him, but he pushed it aside. How did this kid know his name? No one knew his name. All of his clients addressed him as ‘Lee’ and that was it. Taeyong’s mind was running a thousand miles a second. The mask—he wasn’t wearing his mask. The boy’s shocked expression when he finally saw his face. The pieces were struggling to fit together in Taeyong’s head and there was still a very big part missing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong lifted his knee from the boy’s throat and watched as he took in deep, grating breaths. He knelt closer to him, voice low and threatening as possible. “How do you know my name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew it was a bad idea to question the subjects when he just needed to finish the job, but this was new to Taeyong. No one, in his entire career, had ever found his real name, much less saw his face and recognized him. Taeyong never wanted it to be known. Had to be safe. So, how the fuck did these random kids known it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fear was still strongly evident in the black haired boy’s eyes, the other one continued to bury his face in the boy’s shoulder, trembling. Time was ticking down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy tried to sit up, now having gathered enough oxygen into his lungs to speak, “Johnny—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The abrupt sound of a car’s engine interrupted him and both boy’s and Taeyong now turned around in surprise. Taeyong’s mind was still reeling from what the boy had been trying to say. Johnny, Johnny, Johnny. His only memory. How—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-No, no, no, no,” the younger boy was screaming, “They’re coming, Mark, they’re coming!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark, the older boy, pulled the terrified kid to his feet and shoved him behind him, backing away but still keeping his eyes on Taeyong who had his gun raised and aimed at the kids once again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about Johnny?” Taeyong barked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sound of engines were getting steadily louder, seeming to echo off the walls of the warehouse. Taeyong cursed. He needed to move now, but he was also desperate for answers. His heart hurt with how much he wanted to know what Mark knew. The pain in his head was getting to unbearable, but still it wouldn’t show on his face except for the barest glimpse that Mark could see in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I—“ Mark stuttered as the sound of two trucks pulling up outside the warehouse shot through the tense atmosphere. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong remembered what his client said: if anyone were to find them, he must terminate the subjects. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shadows, of what seemed to Taeyong to be about five to six people, stretched across the moonlit floor. Taeyong realized that he had taken for granted how easy this job would be, because at the moment he was struggling to even think of what to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boys were standing behind him, still wary of his pistol, the dark figures who had just arrived could be heard getting their weapons ready outside the window, no doubt infiltrating the room within the next minute. Taeyong could easily take on five or six guys by himself, but if he had to fight while also making sure the subjects wouldn’t try to escape or kill him themself was another story. Direct orders would be to kill them now, then make easy work out of the intruders, but the longer Taeyong tried to force himself to decide, the harder it was. They knew Johnny, or at least it was a fucking crazy coincidence that they would just so happen to say the name Johnny. A glimpse of warm brown eyes and a kind smile flash in Taeyong’s mind. His one memory from his past that had haunted him to this day. These boys somehow knew something related to that and Taeyong knew in that moment that he wouldn’t be able to kill them. He would at least keep them around until Mark could finish whatever he was going to say. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now with a firm course of action decided, Taeyong grabbed the two boys and pushed them towards the broken wall leading outside behind them. His pistol now aimed at the giant broken window pane he had entered from where six darkly clad people stood in perfect formation, guns raised. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keeping his eyes on the enemy, Taeyong yelled, “JUMP!” Startling the boys enough to get the smaller one out of his petrified state. They both stepped on the ledge of the warehouse and jumped out of sight onto the ground below. Taeyong tried to initiate his aim assist before remembering Mark still had his mask. Covering his face, Taeyong threw a capsule from his boot onto the wall where the figures had begun to jump down from. A small explosion rocked the foundation of the warehouse. A dark smoke filled the room effectively blocking out anyone’s sight for more than a three foot radius. The walls seemed to shake as chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling, weakening an already broken support system. Taeyong doesn’t breathe in the toxic fumes and doesn’t stop to see the aftermath before quickly following the boys and jumping off the ledge.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Subjects</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>He knew he needed to leave right then, and if he expected any kind of answers he would have to take the subjects with him. </p>
<p>Pulling the two kids up by their elbows, he sent a beacon to his bike, letting it know his location and started walking along the side of the road until it reached them. </p>
<p>The boys were silent and surprisingly cooperative as they let Taeyong drag them down the abandoned highway. </p>
<p>The only thought on Taeyong’s mind was getting somewhere safe as soon as possible. </p>
<p>He didn’t have much time left before he would either be a wanted man for failing his mission, or be set for the rest of his life.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I feel like I’m getting more into the flow of writing with every chapter, but it’s still very messy and all over the place haha</p>
<p>Hope you enjoy this chapter! I tried to explore more of Taeyong’s mentality with this chapter because I usually don’t write in 3rd person so everything feels kind of distanced. Let me know what you think :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Taeyong landed roughly, feeling a burst of pain from his knee, but ignored it and half-ran half-stumbled down the hill behind the warehouse. The building was built on a rather steep incline so from the in-ground main level of the warehouse to the ground outside was about a story difference in height. Sprinting, Taeyong jumped over the tall security fence with the help of the repulsors in his boots and landed on the other side with a less graceful landing than he would have liked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The subjects, where were the boys?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong scanned the horizon, immediately annoyed with the light blue gradient coming up from the city skyline, signaling the coming of dawn. As he was making his way down the rocky slope, he saw an old asphalt road cutting through the rubble and huddled together, close to the ground there, was Mark and the brown haired boy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carefully, so as not to startle them, he crept silently behind them, glancing back only to make sure none of their followers had made it out of the warehouse. It was obvious they hadn’t noticed Taeyong was there yet, but what struck him as odd was that they weren’t running away and there wasn’t much of a hiding place by the side of the old road. Were they waiting for something?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, that was lucky for Taeyong because Mark still had his mask and he couldn’t escape without it. Reaching out both of his arms, Taeyong roughly grabbed both of their elbows and pulled them back into him, placing a hand over each of their mouths to try and muffle what surprised shriek they would release. Both boys panicked, thrashing in Taeyong’s grip, but once they realized who held them captive, Mark gave a look to the younger one and they both stopped fighting. They were so tense they were barely breathing, but Taeyong thought they must have come to their senses and realized that fighting him would be useless. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leaning close to Mark’s ear, Taeyong whispered, “Mask. Now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With shaking hands, Mark dug in his pants pocket before dropping the black ear capsule in Taeyong’s open palm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong jammed the capsule into his ear and let out a sigh of relief as the familiar buildup of the mask in front of his face ejected once more. Quickly adapting to his now brightly lit surroundings, he could see alerts and health diagnoses crowding his dashboard screen, as well as the outline of several thoroughly concealed drones patrolling the sky right above them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He knew he needed to leave right then, and if he expected any kind of answers he would have to take the subjects with him. Pulling the two kids up by their elbows, he sent a beacon to his bike, letting it know his location and started walking along the side of the road until it reached them. The boys were silent and surprisingly cooperative as they let Taeyong drag them down the abandoned highway. The only thought on Taeyong’s mind was getting somewhere safe as soon as possible. He didn’t have much time left before he would either be a wanted man for failing his mission, or be set for the rest of his life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bike drove up to Taeyong silently, and in the same tense atmosphere he motioned for the boys to get on. It would be a hassle to try and carry two people back with him but he had done it in the past before, even if those times the victims weren’t entirely conscious. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boys sat on the back and Taeyong got on in the front, starting off down the road towards the only safe place he could think of, his apartment. Picking up speed, Taeyong felt a pair of tiny arms grasp his waist. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once they had reached the inner sector of the city, Taeyong felt more at ease, still having no idea who was after them. As there was a city-wide curfew, they met little to no resistance on the road because Taeyong was able to easily hide their position from the patrol drones flying over the empty streets. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong’s apartment was small and cheap. He knew it wasn’t permanent, as inevitably someone who had it out for him could find it and destroy everything he owned, so he didn’t care to bring the two kids there even though it was extremely high risk. It was the only place he knew of that he had made sure was securely hidden from any security and monitoring protocols. Taeyong put his bike in ghost mode and after flashing his id badge by the front door, took the boys up the small lift inside and into his apartment. Inside there was only a rolled up futon in the corner, a freezer chest containing some food, and a window. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boys stumbled inside, standing awkwardly as Taeyong slid his door shut and began encrypting all of the security codes. The room was tiny, about 3 by 3 meters with the only light source coming from the window, giving the room the feeling of a cell more than a home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where did you take us?” The brown haired boy asked quietly, taking in the room with a slow spin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong said nothing. When he was finished making sure everything was locked, he turned around and faced the boys. Mark was already staring at him, but this time his emotions were much more guarded. The other one seemed to be the opposite, looking everywhere but at Taeyong. Although he was no longer clinging to Mark in hysterics, he stayed close behind him, nervously playing with his hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pushing the capsule on his ear, Taeyong ejected the mask, not caring if the boys saw his face because it was obvious that it didn’t matter at this point. The time was 02:46. He didn’t have long if he wanted enough information as possible from the subjects. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you know Johnny?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The question was simple, but it broke through the tense glare Mark was determined to keep. His eyes snapped to the floor, as if he was contemplating even speaking or not. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stepping closer, Taeyong growled, “I hope you are aware that you have nowhere to run.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The silence stretched on, with Mark keen on having a staring contest with his shoes. Taeyong’s anger was rising with every second that passed, but he didn’t let it show.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will only ask one more—“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We know Johnny.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong looked at the smaller boy, surprised to see him not only speak up but also stand in front of Mark this time, holding his hand behind him. His voice was soft and quiet, but managed to still the tense atmosphere in the room. Mark only gaped at him, just as surprised as Taeyong at the young boy’s sudden outburst. The boy’s brown eyes shone with a new spark of determination that wasn’t there before, holding Taeyong’s strong gaze steadily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We know Johnny, and you do, too.” He said, stronger this time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong clenched his fists, “Okay, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>how?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He told us about you. Said you would help us, and you saved our lives back there, so, I don’t know…” The boy drifted off, now looking to Mark for some help.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark turned his gaze back to the floor, “The facility, you remember that, don’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong felt the pit back in his stomach. The facility. No one knew about it, he only remembered he had been there and that was where his only memory of Johnny came from, but other than that he couldn’t think of anything else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark pointed to a scar on his wrist, a square with the numbers 02 inside it. The other boy pointed to his own wrist where a square with a 66 inside it also resides.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The room suddenly felt cold, a shadow fell over the window.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Immediately, Taeyong grabbed his own wrist, hiding his scar of a square with the numbers 00 inside of it. He took a step back and didn’t realize he was struggling to breathe until he saw both boys step forward, eyes wide and arms out as if to catch him from falling. The pain in his head returned at full force, pummeling his temples like tiny bullets. He had to close his eyes to grasp some control over the pain. Taeyong fell to his knees, lungs aching with each grated breath in and out. Clutching his wrist to his chest, he tries to glare up at the boys now standing above him. He couldn’t make out what they were feeling. Was that fear in their eyes? Worry?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What...what did you do to me?” Taeyong gasped out, panting with the effort to even speak. He felt like his heart was going to tear out of his chest, the pain in his head made it impossible to think. Taeyong had never felt this way before, like he was dying from some unknown poison in the air. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A barrage of memories flooded his mind. People in masks leading him away, screaming. Blood splattering against the white walls. The cold metal of a gun in his hand. A row of kids just like him all standing in straight lines on either side of him. A boy with brown hair and brown eyes smiling at him. He was saying something, but Taeyong couldn’t make out what it was. The only thing he felt was a warmth that seemed to radiate off of the boy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny... Johnny. That was him, the one light in the darkness that had consumed Taeyong’s mind for so long. Where was he… Where did he go? Where—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Donghyuck! Open the freezer and see if there’s any water.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong blinked and Mark was suddenly in front of him on his knees. There was a hand on Taeyong’s shoulder, but he hardly registered it. Mind hazy, Taeyong just looked at Mark, trying to make his lips move enough to speak, shout, scream, something. Taeyong felt like his chest was on fire. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other boy came back with the water which he handed to Mark before dropping onto the other side of Taeyong, not touching but watching intently. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here,” Mark lifted the bottle of water to Taeyong’s lips, “Drink this to calm down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Desperate for anything to ease the pain in his chest, Taeyong shakily grabbed the water and gulped it down in seconds before throwing it at the wall. He tried to stand up, roughly shoving Mark’s hand off of him. Taeyong needed to move, he was too weak, too weak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t get very far before Mark shoved him back to the ground, back against the wall. For the first time Taeyong didn’t have any strength to stop him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Donghyuck, grab his other arm.” Mark said as he held Taeyong’s shoulder once again. “Listen, you need to breathe or you’re going to pass out again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took a second for Taeyong to process what Mark was saying, everything surrounding him felt distant and cold, but he knew he didn’t have the strength to stand up again. Taeyong sucked in a deep breath and almost choked breathing out. He paused and breathed in again, this time unconsciously following Mark’s movement in front of him, who was letting out exaggerated inhales and exhales in the hopes that Taeyong would follow along. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good, Taeyong, good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong barely heard the voice, but as his breathing slowly got easier, he was struck with that familiar warmth. He heard Johnny’s voice in his head speaking over Mark. Johnny helping him breath just as Mark had been. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, Taeyong could feel the floor beneath him. His head still hurt but it was at the point he could actually focus on his surroundings. He saw Mark turn to the boy—was that Donghyuck?—and whisper in his ear, but loud enough to where Taeyong could hear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Johnny told us this might happen. He must not remember anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Johnny told you…?” Taeyong sat up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, hey, easy,” Mark sighed and faced Taeyong once again, but for some reason he couldn’t hold eye contact so it was back to looking at the floor. “Donghyuck and I were the only ones who managed to escape the facility. Johnny told us… Johnny told us that he was going to escape, too, and come find us, but we’ve been out for three weeks and Johnny wasn’t at the place he told us to meet at.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He would tell us stories of you, Taeyong, and how you stood up for him at some point, but as a result of that they took you away and he never saw you again. The rest of the guys there all think you’re dead, but Johnny still believed you were out here somewhere. He told us to try and find you if we were able to, that you would protect us, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck looked directly into Taeyong’s eyes as if searching for a single glimpse of familiarity, recognition, warmth, anything. But Taeyong felt nothing. His brain was already having trouble processing what Mark was telling him, temples throbbing in the effort to not go into panic mode again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sitting closer to Taeyong, Donghyuck gently reached out and held his hand, “Johnny showed you to us in the computer databases, even though he would have been in trouble if they caught him. That’s how we knew what you looked like. We weren’t expecting to find you out here so, to have you here now, it’s really…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck stopped and let out a breath, then looked up and gave Taeyong a small smile. Taeyong felt it, that warmth that only came from his memories of Johnny. He was supposed to kill this kid. He was being paid to kill them essentially. His heart was ripping in half. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck continued to smile at Taeyong, “It’s a miracle we found you. And guess what? Johnny was right, you would protect us! You got us away from those people back in the warehouse.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark let out a grimace, it was clear he knew that Taeyong was not there to help them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong started, “Protect you? No, no, I was only trying to make sure you wouldn’t be killed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s the same thing as protecting us, idiot.” Mark deadpanned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck turned to Mark in surprise, but Mark was standing now, taking in Taeyong sitting in a confused heap on the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong said nothing, choosing to avoid eye contact with either of them and stare at Donghyuck’s hand holding his like it was an alien. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen,” Mark crossed his arms, firm, but not trying to be intimidating, “Someone paid you to find us, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A beat. Taeyong nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what are you going to do? Turn us in? Finish the job? Or do you want answers? Information?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The mysterious client, Taeyong thinks, must be someone at the facility. He paid Taeyong to find the kids that went missing, Donghyuck and Mark. The pieces were beginning to fit together in Taeyong’s head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever you do, Donghyuck and I are going to go back to the facility and break everyone out. We have to. They are in there waiting for us and if you come with us, we can get you the answers you want.” Mark said, barely hiding the desperation in his voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For the first time in his life, Taeyong felt guilty. His stomach was churning and he felt like he was going to puke right then and there. He bent his head down, trying to calm himself with more of the breathing he was doing earlier. Why was he like this? Finishing the job was never this hard, never made him feel sick, never made him question his own sanity. It was just a part of life, a business transaction made with the sole purpose of staying alive in a world that only stole from you. So, why were these boys changing all of that in a single night? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The room had been quiet for a while. Mark cleared his throat, “Or, you could, uh, you know, kill us now and get your money…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong felt a grip on his hand. That’s right, Donghyuck had never let go of it, but now he was holding it tight, staring into Taeyong’s eyes, pleading. Taeyong’s hand was limp as he stared back into the deep brown eyes of the boy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sighing, Taeyong knew what he was going to do. He just didn’t know if he would end up regretting it or not. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Man in the Mask</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The day he felt a shiver down his spine after a particularly gruesome interrogation he was paid to carry out, things began to shift.</p>
<p>That night he dreamt about a laughing face, Johnny, with his brown eyes and warm smile that shined off his whole being. </p>
<p>Taeyong, for the first time since he could remember, felt a strong sense of longing. </p>
<p>He had never yearned for something before until that night, but he had no idea what it was. </p>
<p>That was the first time he finally asked himself the question, “why?”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The whole plot and world that this story takes place in is kind of confusing, but hopefully this chapter clears things up a little more. There will be more clear answers given as the story progresses, of course. Thank you so much for your interest in my first story! Honestly wasn’t expecting it so I’m really happy :)</p>
<p>Hope you enjoy this next chapter!</p>
<p>I’ll come back and prob edit and rewrite some parts later so that it’s smoother, this is basically a first draft.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The last clear memory Taeyong had of his past was waking up on the side of the street in the rain. He was all alone, the sky was dark. He remembered feeling empty as the cold drops hit his face, the lights of the city distantly shining above him. The only sound was the soft </span>
  <em>
    <span>plip</span>
  </em>
  <span> of rain on the road. Anything before that moment was lost to him. How he ended up there, what he would do next, he didn’t care, only the sound of someone’s laughter seemed to echo inside his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had been drifting aimlessly since then, going from one job to the next. Just earning enough to get by on. He put his specialized skills to use, how he got them, again he had no idea, but he didn’t care. The only thing he knew was a hundred different ways to steal, fight, and kill, so that’s what he did. There was never an end goal in sight, only to make it to the next day. To some that would seem unbearable, but Taeyong couldn’t find it in him to care. Always alone, always moving, Taeyong decided that was just how life was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The day he felt a shiver down his spine after a particularly gruesome interrogation he was paid to carry out, things began to shift. That night he dreamt about a laughing face, Johnny, with his brown eyes and warm smile that shined off his whole being. Taeyong, for the first time since he could remember, felt a strong sense of longing. He had never yearned for something before until that night, but he had no idea what it was. That was the first time he finally asked himself the question, “why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After that, what Taeyong would describe as a weakness would overtake him at the start of almost every mission. The laughing face would follow his dreams every night if he even dreamt at all. He would be lying if he said that he hadn’t laid awake for hours trying his hardest to remember what happened before that night in the rain. Anything to give himself some source of understanding in all that was continuously kept hidden from him. The only thing that he could think of was Johnny, though. The face and the name were the only thing he could remember. After a while, Taeyong gave up. He pushed it to the back of his mind, determined to try and forget about something that would inevitably, he was sure, only cause him pain. So, he continued drifting through each job he took, no thoughts other than completing it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kids now sitting in front of him drastically changed all of that. He had the opportunity to find all the answers he needed, to find that purpose that he never cared about before. Frankly, Taeyong was tired of drifting. Sure, he would most definitely have a particularly dangerous client on his head if he chose to accept the boys’ offer, but he knew how to handle himself in dangerous situations. It was obvious the boys were important to his client, and it made sense that his client would have something to do with the facility, as well. Worst come to worst he could easily use them as bargaining chips to get what he wanted, what he needed. All he’d have to do is go along with their stupid plan of breaking back into the place they had just escaped out of. Which also meant a trip down memory lane for Taeyong, if he really had lived in the facility like they were claiming. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glancing up at Mark and Donghyuck, no one could miss the pleading look in their eyes. Taeyong guessed that since Johnny had supposedly left these kids to fend for themselves, they were desperate for any source of protection they could find. Unfortunately for them, Taeyong gave them no sympathy, but he would go along with them to get what he needed and finally stop the pounding headache that would start every time something triggered his memory of Johnny. Maybe when he found the answers he needed he could finally kill off the weakness that sneaked up on him before his missions. Just the thought of that alone was enough to push Taeyong towards a final decision. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll go with you.” Taeyong stood up, steeling his emotions to hide any trace of his previous thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The look of relief on their faces was enough to brighten the dark room, but Taeyong remained cold and guarded. He had shown enough vulnerability to last a lifetime to these two strangers and he was determined to pretend like his little episode had never happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, yay! Uh, so… Are you alright, man? Do you need to, like, take a rest before we plan? Oh my god, Johnny’s gonna be so happy to see you—“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark’s rambling was cut short by Taeyong’s icy glare, sharp and deadly. The younger gulped, stepping back a foot as if afraid any more interactions with him would be a trigger to cause Taeyong to suddenly snap. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The room was too quiet. Donghyuck stood up from his place on the floor and put a hand on Mark’s shoulder. “Well, it’s late. We should stay here for the night because I don’t know if you’ve noticed but, we don’t have anywhere else to go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong wasn’t happy about that, but said nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck turned to Taeyong, no fear in his eyes, but the warmth from before was nonexistent. “If we’re working together now, then we need to start acting like it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong unrolled the futon, which took up about half of the tiny room, and then sat back down against the front door. Getting the memo, the boys each laid down on the futon, grateful that Taeyong was willing to give them a place to sleep if nothing else. To Taeyong, there was no way he was going to let these two kids sleep in his house and not be on watch. Anything could happen if he fell asleep, and he wasn’t about to trust them yet. He also needed time to himself to think over what he was going to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without a doubt, he would have to watch his back at all times now, this was the first time he had broken an agreement with a client and that was a whole separate mess to deal with on top of trying to break into a secure, secret government facility all in the hopes of rescuing a bunch of people he didn’t know. Taeyong didn’t like their chances, but that was the good thing about drifting through everyday life, you simply stop caring whether those chances are good or not. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a while, Taeyong heard the deep breathing of Mark and Donghyuck, curled up together on the futon. They were definitely asleep. Taeyong stared out the small window in front of him, forcing his eyes open. He had pulled plenty of all-nighters before, it was just part of the job sometimes, but for some reason at that moment it was like his brain had shut down. He felt so, so exhausted to the point where he had to focus all his energy into keeping his eyes open. This had never been a problem before, but Taeyong realized he’d probably be facing a lot of new problems now. His episode from earlier, whatever that was, had mentally and emotionally drained him to the point his body was now begging for rest. Taeyong supposed it made sense, but that didn’t mean he liked it. It was so much easier to feel nothing than this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a couple minutes of relentless staring out the window, he had no choice but to give in to what his body was demanding. He slowly closed his eyes and fell almost immediately into a deep sleep, a warm feeling suddenly filled his chest as he drifted off to the sound of soft huffs of air coming from the two kids asleep on his mattress. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong woke to the sound of shattering glass. Fully alert in seconds, Taeyong leapt to his feet, hands on his gun as he found himself face to face with a man wearing a black mask. The same mask Taeyong wore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck and Mark were huddled together in the corner of the room, screaming. Taeyong got down and tried to kick the back of the man’s knees, but the man dodged and jumped up, bringing a swift punch to Taeyong’s shoulder, pushing him back against the wall. Another punch was thrown, aimed for Taeyong’s face, but he spun out of the way at the last second, the man’s fist colliding solidly with the wall. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong took this opportunity to grasp a firm hold on the man’s elbow, forcing his arm to twist until he could break the bone, but the man simply used Taeyong’s momentum to flip Taeyong around on himself, freeing his arm and forcing Taeyong to stumble for balance for the smallest of seconds. Both men stared at each other, bodies tense and ready to spring, waiting for the next move. It seemed like whatever attack Taeyong threw, the guy knew just how to evade it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not allowing the stalemate to reach its climax, Taeyong used the surprise of the moment to launch himself forward, kicking with all his strength at the big man’s chest before flipping off and landing a safe distance away, forcing his target to stumble back off-balance. Taeyong took this opportunity to level his pistol and fire, but the bullet only grazed the man’s neck, a line of blood immediately starting to gather. A grunt was all that escaped the man’s lips as his arms shot out, grasping Taeyong’s wrists. Taeyong had underestimated the distance between them, as the man was much bigger than Taeyong and the room was small. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The iron grip of the man’s hand was almost enough to break Taeyong’s wrist right there, but instead he jerked his arm to the side, forcing Taeyong’s arm to twist around completely unnaturally to the point his hand was forced open and his pistol dropped squarely into the palm of the man in the mask. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Taeyong could register that he had his own move used against him, a shot rang out and Taeyong hadn’t turned away to the side fast enough. Pumped on adrenaline, warmth was all Taeyong could feel running down his legs and back. A problem for later. The man was obviously expecting his shot to have completely debilitated Taeyong, but he was very wrong. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong used that moment to spring back at his opponent, and brought his legs up to kick the shit out of the man’s face, his boot hitting the right side of the man’s head where his mask capsule was located. The force of the kick was enough to break the capsule and the mask flickered for a few seconds before breaking completely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Faster than the man could process, Taeyong had moved behind him and brought two kicks to the back of his knees, forcing him to fall, then he hit the two pressure points in his back, cutting off any of his arm movement for a short time. Leaving Taeyong free to wrap his arms around the man’s neck in a death grip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man was weakly trying to raise his arms to stop him, but that only made Taeyong squeeze harder, pushing all of his seeping energy, pain, and fury into ending this man. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“STOP! TAEYONG STOP!” Desperate shrieks erupted from the corner of the room where Mark was standing next to a crying Donghyuck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What? What does he mean stop? This man was going to kill them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong hesitated against his will, something about Mark and Donghyuck’s terrified expressions put him on edge. He couldn’t see the man’s face, but he saw the light brown hair of the man being pushed against his chest, the way Donghyuck seemed to reach out for the person Taeyong was trying to kill. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s Johnny! Stop! Oh god, please, Taeyong!” Mark cried out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny? It was as if Taeyong couldn’t process what they were saying, but the mention of the name Johnny caused his grip around his neck to lessen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sensing his chance, the man reached behind him and grabbed Taeyong’s arms, flipping him over his head and landing painfully on the floor. The man leaned over him as if preparing for the killing blow and Taeyong felt all the air leave his lungs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was Johnny. The brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to haunt his dreams were right in front of him, about to kill him. The eyes that he knew to be warm and bright were dull, almost as if he wasn’t even alive, just operating on some unknown instinct. The laugh that Taeyong knew to be Johnny’s was nonexistent on that emotionless face. It was as if the world had stopped turning as Taeyong stared at the fist that was about to collide with his face. Suddenly, a sharp smack resonated in the space and blood slowly dripped down Johnny’s stone cold face, a drop hitting Taeyong’s nose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last thing Taeyong saw was Mark standing over him holding the front of the forgotten gun like a baseball bat, having whacked Johnny in the back of the head with all of his strength. Johnny collapsed on the floor next to Taeyong.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong looked down at himself and realized there was more than just one person bleeding. His entire lower half was drenched crimson, shining in the moonlight coming down through the broken window. His hands were covered in it, there was a puddle forming around his body on the floor and for the first time he felt a flash of pain. It was suddenly hard to focus on what was around him as he struggled to look up to see Mark and Donghyuck who were staring at him in horror. He felt an overwhelming wave of dizziness, his stomach churning, forcing him to fall back to the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, fuck…” Taeyong’s vision went dark. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Johnny</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>He slowly opened his eyes and saw the dark early morning sky above him. </p>
<p>Stars still vaguely twinkling from behind the clouds. </p>
<p>Taeyong stared at the enchanted sky, allowing himself that moment to take in the warmth he felt, the beauty of the ever expanding universe displayed out for him. </p>
<p>Was he dead? Was this what it was like after death? To feel this much peace after suffering for so long?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So not a whole lot happens in this chapter, just more explaining and reconnection of Johnny and Taeyong. I know, it seems like Taeyong is going to have like a mental breakdown every chapter at this point haha but I promise there is a reason! This is a pretty chill chapter all-in-all. I’ve noticed Taeyong has basically turned into a really angsty teen, but who can blame him? He’s been though shit..</p>
<p>anyway hope you enjoy this chapter! <br/>Sorry if things seem too abrupt or disorganized or emotional lol im still getting used to writing again. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the support :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Voices filled Taeyong’s head, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. Worry, concern, fear, and something unfamiliar was the only thing he could feel being communicated around him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He felt a wave of heat from what he assumed was fire next to him. Slowly, he became aware of the rough ground beneath him, the feeling of concrete. The smell of smoke and fresh night air created a strange atmosphere that made his head feel lighter, reducing the sudden throbbing in all his limbs to the back of his mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong wanted to open his eyes, but it felt like he had weights dragging him down and he didn’t want to try. Those voices started to become clearer and Taeyong heard what sounded like arguing. Three people, two of the voices sounded familiar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wait, the kids.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark and Donghyuck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everything that had happened came back to Taeyong’s mind. His memories of the facility, the fight in his apartment, passing out. Did he really see Johnny there, or was that yet another trick his mind was trying to pull on him?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then he heard the laughter. The warm sound that seemed to erupt out of nowhere, soft at first but then it filled the space with it’s light melodious voice, echoing through whatever room they were in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong had heard that laugh before. He knew it in his heart. A burning sensation rose behind his eyes and his chest filled with what he could only describe as a sense of healing, like the laugh had cured the pain he had been feeling for years of his life in a single moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He slowly opened his eyes and saw the dark early morning sky above him. Stars still vaguely twinkling from behind the clouds. Taeyong stared at the enchanted sky, allowing himself that moment to take in the warmth he felt, the beauty of the expanding universe displayed out for him. Was he dead? Was this what it was like after death? To feel this much peace after suffering for so long?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, look.” A quiet voice broke the moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, Mark was there. The face of a person Taeyong had met only hours before was enough to bring him back to reality. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Taeyong, you’re awake.” Mark pushed his hand underneath Taeyong’s back and helped him sit upright. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ghost of a smile had vanished from his features as he took in his surroundings, now very much alert. It looked like they were in another one of Seoul’s abandoned factories, but there was nothing left of it except the cracked concrete floor and huge pillars scattered around. They were very much in the open, with only a crumbling brick wall to hide them and obviously no ceiling above them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong was situated next to a fire that someone had built. Donghyuck sat on the other side of the fire next to a person who looked to be about twice his size. When Taeyong’s eyesight had fully cleared, he saw the face of Johnny staring back at him. The dull eyes Taeyong remembered before he passed out was nonexistent as the brown ones staring back at him now held an almost amused sparkle to them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny was there. It wasn’t a dream. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark placed his arm around Taeyong’s shoulder, steadying him. He must have been about to fall over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” The anxious boy whispered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong gave a short nod, realizing where his lightheadedness was coming from. His side had been tightly wrapped in bandages. A shock of pain would shoot up Taeyong’s side with the slightest movement, but he ignored it. They must have put some strong medication on it anyway for the pain to be bearable enough for him. He would not show weakness in front of them if he could help it. The rational part of his brain called him stupid for that as they had already seen him unconscious and half-dead, but he ignored that, too. His rapidly crumbling image of a deadly assassin was being broken down slowly but surely thanks to these kids and he wasn’t about to let it happen again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong brushed Mark’s hand off his shoulder, “Where are we?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Johnny took us to our meeting place, it’s safe here. Outside of Seoul.” Donghyuck replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny was quiet, looking quickly from Taeyong to staring at the fire as he stood up and pushed the kindling around with a stick, sparks spraying into the air. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark’s voice was low as he spoke, “Donghyuck and I didn’t know what to do after both you and Johnny were unconscious. I tried to stop your bleeding as much as possible, but, uh, we were kind of just freaking out. Johnny woke up a few minutes later, though, and he was back to normal, I mean, not trying to kill us or anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, he wasn’t scary anymore and he knew just how to help you, basically saved your life because there was so much blood. Then he took us away from your apartment because the bad people know where it is now, and here we are.” Donghyuck stood and walked closer to Johnny, as if he couldn’t bear to be even a few feet apart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, and Johnny didn’t remember anything he did before Mark knocked him out, so I swear he didn’t mean to shoot you, Taeyong.” Donghyuck added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny’s gaze was still on the small flickering flames in front of him, refusing to look at Taeyong. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Words escaped Taeyong as he tried to think of a way to repl, waves of anxious thoughts crowding his mind. Who were the bad people? How bad was his injury? How could they just blindly trust Johnny after everything that had happened? He had tried to kill them. What was with these kids and trusting every person they came across? Didn’t they realize how stupid they were being?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong struggled to his feet, having to stop and breathe with his hands on his knees to stand up purely from the effort it took. Mark tried to offer him his arm as support, but Taeyong brushed him off, again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re all idiots.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all froze with the sound of ice coming from Taeyong’s lips. Slowly, he lifted himself up, standing strong and intimidating before them, as if he didn’t have a bullet in his side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mark, Donghyuck, what were you thinking. Following this fucking guy around even though you have no fucking idea whether or not he’s even leading you to your death.” Taeyong’s voice rose steadily in volume as he allowed the pain of the situation to wash over him. “You should have left him behind! Saved yourselves because </span>
  <em>
    <span>no one</span>
  </em>
  <span> is going to be there for you, you understand? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Nobody cares!</span>
  </em>
  <span> People will only ever use you to get what they want and will throw you away as soon as they’ve got it! You’re such a fucking idiot!” Taeyong was yelling at this point. His voice hoarse with anger and dripping with a deeper emotion that could only be shown through the deep pain shining in his eyes, glaring at each of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark had backed away from him, looking at the ground, out of reach from the light casted by the flames. Donghyuck was clinging to Johnny’s arm as Johnny continued to stare and pick at the fire. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unable to bear the sudden tensions he had created, Taeyong turned away from them, catching his breath as his outburst had completely drained him of what energy he had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A hand touched his shoulder gently, making him jump. Expecting it to be Mark, he tried to throw the hand off of him, but upon turning back around he was surprised to see the warm brown eyes of Johnny looking at him with concern. The hand didn’t move off of Taeyong’s small frame and Taeyong couldn’t find it within himself to move it. He was too tired.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Taeyong,” Johnny started softly, “Do you remember me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong stared straight ahead at Johnny’s chest in front of him, not trusting himself to keep up the wall around his emotions. The burning sensation behind his eyes from earlier had come back at full force and he felt all the strength he was trying to project start slipping through his grasp. Taeyong didn’t trust himself to answer. He was afraid that would be the thing to break him completely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t know how to react when the one source of comfort he had in his life was suddenly standing right in front of him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny placed his other hand on Taeyong’s shoulder, holding him in place just in case Taeyong would try to run away, or attack, who knows. After what felt like days of silence, it was obvious Taeyong wasn’t going to be able to answer, but he wasn’t moving away from Johnny’s grasp either. That was an answer enough for Johnny as he gently wrapped his arms around Taeyong, his head pressed against Taeyong’s blonde hair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Johnny murmured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong felt his legs give out beneath him, falling into Johnny’s embrace. Johnny was the only reason he was still on his feet. Taeyong wasn’t reciprocating the hug, but he was allowing Johnny to hold him. Part of himself thought it was because he was just severely lacking in strength with his injury, but the other part had been yearning for this for a long time. This warmth only Johnny could give. It felt like the purpose he was searching for was there, in his reach. The weight of all those years of endless missions, endless killings, endless drifting through each day just to wake up and do it all over again, had reached its peak and Taeyong let it break over him, succumbing to his weakness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Johnny continued to hold him, hiding his face from the younger two who were now huddled together by the fire, looking at them both with concern. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong’s shoulders shook silently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Johnny felt Taeyong’s sobs subside, he released him from the hug, bending down slightly to his eye level. The suddenly small boy was looking at the ground, eyes and nose red from the fresh tears, but there was no emotion Johnny could read off of him. Even after the hug and the tears Johnny could see Taeyong’s walls up, guarding anyone on the outside from seeing what might be going through his mind right now. Johnny didn’t know when the last time Taeyong had been comforted by someone was, and he was afraid that might have been the first connection he had with anyone since the facility. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Johnny said softly, “We need to talk about this, alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong nodded, apprehensively looking up at Johnny. His eyes were distant, like he wasn’t all the way present in the moment, but he was responding and that was enough for Johnny. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny sat down by the fire next to Mark and Donghyuck, Taeyong sitting down by himself a few feet away. “So, I’m guessing you want some answers.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck broke away from Mark and wrapped an arm around Johnny’s. He lifted his arm around Donghyuck and pulled him closer, giving the younger the warmth he needed after so long apart. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know I told you guys I was going to meet you here three weeks ago, and I tried, but that plan was obviously ruined. When you two managed to escape that night, the testers went ballistic and had security tripled around the facility. I had to wait until enough time had passed that they were no longer suspicious of me, but I guess they had their eyes on me the whole time, anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What we didn’t know was they were starting the next phase so soon. I was taken away from the others for about a week and honestly, I don’t remember much of what was happening. The last thing I remember is being put to sleep and then waking up with a nasty headache on the floor of Taeyong’s apartment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark grimaced, “Sorry about that, by the way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny let out a laugh, but there wasn’t an ounce of humor in it. “No, don’t be. I probably would have killed you.” Absentmindedly, he put a hand in Donghyuck’s hair, threading his fingers through the soft brown locks. “I’m guessing they succeeded in their little brainwashing experiment or whatever they were trying to do. It’s a miracle that knocking me out was enough to bring me back. This just means that we have less time than before. We’re already three weeks behind, and now that we know the testers were granted access to start working directly on us, we need to get back to everyone as soon as possible before they get what happened to me or worse.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you know how Yuta or Jungwoo are doing? Are they alright?” Mark piped up, desperate to distract himself from thinking about what ‘or worse’ could be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck looked at Johnny, eyes sparkling, “Taeil? Jaehyun?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny’s lips turned up in a small smile, hugging Donghyuck closer. “All of the others were fine the last time I was with them, always worrying about you two. They would be so proud to see how brave you’ve been.” It wasn’t much, but it offered the boys a small bit of hope to cling onto.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you tell me exactly what the facility does?” Taeyong asked quietly, a stark difference between his angry outburst from before and the small boy sitting with his knees to his chest, apart from the rest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You must not remember that much. The facility was started years ago by the government, so as far as I know, no one knows about it. They take kids when they’re young and have been using them as test subjects for a new secret police force. You were the first kid taken, Taeyong. You lived in the facility for years, until you were 14 or 15. Mark, Donghyuck and I were all kids part of it, too. I was the only one to come later, though, around, uh, 8 or 9, I think? That’s why I was able to somewhat remember what the world outside the facility looks like. Anyway, they trained us and several others from a very young age to fight and kill and obey with no repercussions, but for some reason they couldn’t do it with you, Taeyong. Granted, you were their first test subject so it was bound to not work out, but you never lost yourself through it all, that was the reason everyone looked up to you so much.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny smiled to himself at the memory, “We were best friends. We realized that we didn’t want to spend our lives doing what they wanted and so we would dream about escaping together. The testers got suspicious of us almost immediately, though, and the day they were trying to take me away as a precaution, you took on three of the guards at once, it was incredible. But they knocked you out and I never saw you again. I don’t know what they did to you for you to be the way you are now, but I never believed you were dead. Even when they told me to drop it, I never did.”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny looked at Taeyong and smiled, eyes watering, “I’m so happy you’re alive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong looked back and for the first time, and awkward as it felt, let himself relax and return the smile. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. White Walls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They reached the bottom with a soft thud, the staff disembarking immediately upon the doors opening. </p>
<p>Johnny, Mark, Donghyuck and Taeyong quickly followed, not having any time to analyze their new environment. </p>
<p>The smell of chemicals was what hit Taeyong first. </p>
<p>Then, he saw the stark white walls and floors with winding hallways going in every direction. </p>
<p>White walls. White walls. Blood on the white walls.</p>
<p>Barely twenty feet into the facility, Taeyong stopped suddenly, his heart pounding in his chest. </p>
<p>He could hear ringing in his ears. </p>
<p>He felt like something was squeezing his chest cutting off the air from his lungs. </p>
<p>White walls. Blood. His fault.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The navy sky was slowly turning various shades of pink and blue with the coming sunrise. The boys had all continued to huddle around the fire for as long as possible, now reduced to a few smoldering logs. Johnny gently unwrapped himself from around a half-asleep Donghyuck, laying him on his side by Mark who was completely passed out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong was still awake, sitting silently off to the side. Johnny understood that it might take some time for Taeyong to open up to the group. He must have a lot to process. Johnny couldn’t even imagine how he’d feel if he was in his situation, so the only thing he could do would be to help him every step of the way, especially after he had been alone for so long. Right now, though, that would all have to be put on hold. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If the testers were able to use Johnny while he was under their control and find Taeyong’s apartment that easily, that could definitely mean that they knew Taeyong was with the kids, and more likely than not, they were already being followed. The situation was too risky to wait any longer, they had to strike now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny glanced over at the two kids, chests rising and falling slowly with the calm blanket of sleep cast over them. Their faces, once completely relaxed, really did look so innocent and child-like. It was hard to believe that they were only two years away from reaching adulthood. His heart ached for them, taken when they were so small and yet forced to do the most horrible things. They were Johnny’s reason to fight after Taeyong was taken away from him, so he had tried his best for all those years to make sure they stayed themselves in an environment that wanted nothing more than for them to become puppets, perfect machines. He felt he had done a pretty good job all things considered, but now he had to make sure they would always be safe like this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny absolutely hated to interrupt them from the sleep they desperately needed, but they needed to be awake to plan their next move. He bent down next to the two of them, gently shaking Mark’s shoulder. The boy groaned in protest, but his eyes slowly fluttered open. As soon as he saw Johnny above him, he let out a sleepy smile, reaching his hand up to him, “Hi, Johnny.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny couldn’t help the laugh he could feel grow in his chest just from looking at Mark. He was always the one that never failed to cheer Johnny up when he was stressed or feeling down and he didn’t know what he would do without him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny took Mark’s hand and lifted him up with one arm until he was standing and rubbing the fatigue from his eyes. Donghyuck stirred almost immediately, as if sensing Mark’s presence was no longer next to him, and slowly opened his eyes. He sat up with a yawn, looking up at Johnny with wide questioning eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you guys have a good two hours of sleep?” Johnny said with a smirk. Donghyuck groaned, falling back onto the ground and pretending to fall asleep, again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kneeling down next to him, Johnny started attacking Donghyuck with tickles, forcing the kid to immediately sit up and scoot as far away from Johnny as he was able, laughing all the while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, does the baby need more sleep?” Mark teased, all too happy to join in on attacking the youngest, laughing just as loud as Donghyuck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck jumped to his feet, exaggerating the annoyance he felt with every dramatic step. “Mark, you’re more of a baby than I am, shut the fuck up!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! I’m not the one who was crying only a few hours ago!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Haechan was indignant, “We might’ve died! I feel like that’s a pretty good reason, flat-head.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, flat-ass—“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny figured it was time to step in. “Okay, that’s enough, guys.” He wasn’t even a tiny bit angry, though, and the boys knew that as the atmosphere was still light and filled with laughter from all three of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong had been watching them from his spot on the floor. He felt like an intruder, like he shouldn’t be there with them. It made his heart ache to see the smiles and playful banter between them, but he would never admit that. He didn’t deserve to laugh and smile with them after everything he’s done. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As if reading Taeyong’s thoughts, Johnny turned towards him, hands out to help him off the floor, but Taeyong ignored it and stood up by himself. Johnny frowned, but shrugged it off and worked to gather the now wrestling boys together so they could get serious about their situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen, we need to break into the facility tonight.” Johnny said firmly, the fun and happy Johnny from before no longer apparent. He needed them to realize how important this was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark stammered, “To-tonight? But, that’s so soon, I mean, won’t they be expecting us? Shouldn’t we wait?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, because if we wait any longer, they might find us first.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Donghyuck gulped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So the plan is, we can make it back to the Capitol building by afternoon. That gives us a couple hours before the curfew sets in to get into the facility and reach everyone else. If they haven't changed anything in the past two weeks, then they will all be gathered together in the dorms because testers still only bother us at night. Then, we can use Taeyong as an outsider to either bust our way out with explosives or sneak out, whatever the situation calls for.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not really a plan.” Taeyong said, absentmindedly fixing his gloves and boots.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, there’s too much we don’t know to have anything solid. Most likely, we’re going to have to improvise quite a bit.” Johnny replied patiently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong looked up, a thought striking him. “Why the Capitol building?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The facility is underneath it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, so it was an infiltration. One that even Taeyong would never have done if he was being paid for it. There was a reason the dictator of Seoul kept so much hidden and in the dark. No one knew how he did it, but he was so good at working behind the scenes and in secret that no one had even seen him in person, thus referring to him as ‘dictator’ or perhaps ‘tyrant’ would be better fitted. Korea’s borders had been locked ever since the revolt and there was no one strong enough within the city to say anything about it or change. Especially with the dictator’s habit of simply killing off anyone he saw as a threat silently. The facility was created for that sole purpose. If Taeyong had thought their chances were bad before, he wasn’t even sure they would make it out alive at this point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why are you even doing this? You could leave right now.” Taeyong didn’t understand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny sighed, “We can’t leave them in there. We can’t let their minds be destroyed and turned into some monster just to do whatever the guy in charge wants.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong scoffed, “You could save yourself right now, because you know that you most likely are only going to die trying. Who knows if they’re even alive and waiting right now. Why bother?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen, you can come with us or not, but we made a promise to them. I have to believe they will be waiting for us.” Johnny stared hard into Taeyong’s eyes, determined. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong realized nothing he could say would change his mind. He didn’t really know why he was going with them, either. He had the basic answers he needed; where he came from, Johnny wasn’t just a figment of his imagination, stuff like that. But there was still something missing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was taken when he was a kid, so did he have a family? Did they live in Seoul? Did they still think about their missing son, believe he was out there somewhere? These questions had plagued Taeyong’s mind since he had sat down beside the fire. He knew it wasn’t smart, but those were answers he needed, too, and he realized that the only way to get them would most likely be from the facility. So, he decided to be silent, keeping all his worries and doubts to himself. It wasn’t like he was going with them to help rescue their friends, he just wanted information and he would do whatever he could to obtain it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s start heading to the Capitol building, I’ll figure out more on the way. We’re going to have to be stealthy, but with mine and Taeyong’s display masks we should be able to be kept hidden from any perimeter drones or security tapes.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boys nodded and they all got to work on cleaning up their meager campsite until it looked like no one had been there. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Making their way to the inner sectors of Seoul was a challenge, but they knew it would be the easiest part of their mission, so they managed to get to their destination relatively calmly. There were a few close calls with some pedestrians going about their day giving them odd looks, or a drone following them a block too long to be safe, but they made it to the outside wall of the Capitol building on time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s an entrance used for waste in the back. We can enter through there while frying all the security cameras.” Johnny stated, already mapping out the safest route.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck grimaced, “What kind of waste are we talking about here?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The waste entrance turned out to be a small port in the back where a tube was connected to a service vehicle for removal of waste products. The only other possible entrance was a glass barrier used for staff entry and exit. There was a line of people walking in and out, all wearing white suits and masks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do,” Johnny explained, “There’s only two drones waiting inside, I can see them through the barrier, we need to grab four of the staff members and get their ID chips, then we can make our way inside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The three of them nodded in understanding, Taeyong still not thoroughly convinced this plan would even work. Johnny looked at him and gave an extra nod, a sign of encouragement, before tapping the capsule in his ear, the mask fully forming over his face. Taeyong did the same, triple checking all security details around him and shutting them down. Cameras and outside drones were easy to hide from, but the customized drones inside the building were a different story.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He watched as Johnny, Mark and Donghyuck each walked single file over to where the beginning of the line started. The staff stared straight ahead, unaware of any of their surroundings. Taeyong quickly followed suit, each of them lining up behind a staff member. Johnny held his hand up counting down from four and Taeyong realized what they were doing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as Johnny’s last finger went down, Taeyong’s instincts kicked in and he striked with the smallest of movements at the pressure point in the staff member's neck that initiated an immediate state of unconsciousness. The staff went limp and fell back straight into Taeyong’s arms where he then continued to drag her out and behind the waste tube. The others had done the exact same thing as Taeyong, all moving together as smoothly as if they had trained for this, which in reality, wasn’t far off. At least the skills he learned in the facility were useful, Taeyong thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny took out a small blade from his belt. “Alright now we have to get the ID.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They watched as Johnny began touching up the right arm of the staff member he had knocked out, feeling for an area on her arm that had more pressure than the rest. He stopped right above her elbow, pressing down on the spot to make sure. Positioning his knife over her arm, he cleanly sliced it open, but not enough to have any long lasting harm to the staff. He allowed the small stream of blood to flow a bit before digging in with the tip of his knife and dragging out a small metal chip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong watched as he did the same thing to Mark and Donghyuck’s staff members, handing them the small grey chip in a matter of seconds. Johnny was going to do the same thing to Taeyong’s but Taeyong stopped him, reaching into his belt for his own knife and cutting out the chip himself, less cleanly. They left the bodies sitting upright on the wall of the building, hidden away from the line of white uniforms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny unwrapped two white masks from around the staffs’ head and tied them around Mark and Donghyuck who were the only ones without something to hide their face. All four of them walked to the line and stood in perfect formation with the rest of them. It didn’t matter that they weren’t in disguise, as long as they could jam the security monitors and prove they had an ID chip to the drones positioned just inside the glass barrier. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When it got to their turn, the glass door slid open, freezing air rushing over them. Mark was standing right in front of Taeyong and he was trembling, but Taeyong was sure it wasn’t because of the sudden cold. They copied what the staff were doing all around them, holding out their arms straight, the ID chip positioned just above their elbows. The drones scanned with a red light before a beep sounded, letting them know they could enter. All four of them got in without a hitch and Taeyong released the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The interior of the building was dark, the only lights were shining distantly above them, giving the room an unsettling feeling mixed with the strange white uniformed figures who filled the space. There were two lines of staff once inside. The majority were walking straight ahead to perform their duties in the Capitol building, while the small crowd left behind were positioned outside of an industrial looking lift. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong tried to keep in mind where everyone was just in case something went wrong at the last minute. Mark was in front of him, his black hair and white mask blending in well with the staff around him. He was still shaking and Taeyong remembered that this boy had just escaped and now he was back in the place that stole his life from him, just for his friends. The ache that Taeyong recently began feeling panged in his heart, again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In front of Mark was Donghyuck, he was a little shorter than Mark so he was able to almost hide perfectly between them. Johnny was in front and he was extremely easy to keep track of because of his height, which Taeyong was grateful for. It was easy to not get lost in the crowd of people with Johnny standing tall in the front. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The lift opened smoothly and the four of them entered the small room with around ten other staff members, who paid them no attention, acting almost like they didn’t even exist. The doors shut and that’s when reality hit Taeyong. He might never see the sky again after stepping onto that lift, but he came for a reason and he wasn’t going to back out now. He felt his stomach drop as the lift went down, down, down, into what could possibly be the last place they ever saw. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They reached the bottom with a soft thud, the staff disembarking immediately upon the doors opening. Johnny, Mark, Donghyuck and Taeyong quickly followed, not having any time to analyze their new environment. The smell of chemicals was what hit Taeyong first. Then, he saw the stark white walls and floors with winding hallways going in every direction. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>White walls. White walls. Blood on the white walls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barely twenty feet into the facility, Taeyong stopped suddenly, his heart pounding in his chest. He could hear ringing in his ears. He felt like something was squeezing his chest cutting off the air from his lungs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>White walls. Blood. His fault.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hadn’t noticed he was now leaning against the wall, taking in heaving, uneven breathes, until Johnny was suddenly right in front of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Taeyong, Taeyong, what’s wrong?” Johnny shook his shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong could barely focus on him, the sound of Johnny’s voice fading in and out as the voices in his head got steadily louder and louder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>WHite WALls. WHiTe WAlls. BlOod on tHe WHiTe waLLs. HiS fAULt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was too much for him. Taeyong ripped out his mask capsule trying desperately to suck in more air as he felt himself fall to the ground. He needed more air. He couldn’t breathe. His head was on fire. It was like the headaches he would get from before, but on another level. It was igniting every nerve ending, crushing his temples. He was dying, he was dying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>WHITE WALLS. BLOOD. WHITE. BLOOD. WALLS. FAULT. BLOOD.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His throat hurt, he couldn’t see, the smell of chemicals made him feel like he needed to throw up. The sharp taste of iron was on his tongue. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey...It...okay….”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A voice pierced through all the screaming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Taeyo…look….here…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong opened his eyes. Someone was sitting in front of him, but he couldn’t focus on it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Breathe...in...good job, now again….”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He felt his lungs relax, burning as they took in oxygen, but it helped his vision focus more so he kept at it. Gradually, Johnny’s face came into view, eyes filled with so much worry and concern Taeyong wondered if he really was dying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good job, just keep breathing in and out, like that.” His voice was soft and gentle as if talking to a baby. Somehow it pushed out the screaming in Taeyong’s head, the ringing in his ears was fading. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He felt two hands on the side of his face, tilting his head slightly up for the best flow of oxygen. Taeyong felt the floor beneath him, the wall behind him supporting his back. Johnny was so close he was the only thing Taeyong could see, which at the moment Taeyong was grateful for. Johnny kept talking to him, nonstop, just allowing his voice to wash over Taeyong. He couldn’t really process what was being said to him, but he listened to the smooth honey-like vocals, choosing to focus on that than the too fast beat of his heart and the pain in his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, he felt like he was getting enough oxygen, breathing in deep without the burning feeling in his chest. He was struck with an odd sense of déjà vu as he looked at Johnny, crouching on the floor in front of him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He suddenly remembered that same voice talking to him in the same way, a lady in white trying to take him away, her grasp on his wrist like iron shackles. There were other people there, too. Other boys like him, watching in horror from behind Johnny as he was dragged away kicking and screaming. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking at Johnny now, he was much older than the boy from his memories, but there was no doubt that it was him. Taeyong closed his eyes as the swarm of memories from his past life inside the facility entered his mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny saw Taeyong’s chest finally relax in a steady rhythm, the shaking of his hands reduced to a small tremor. “Hey,” he nudged Taeyong after giving him a second to himself, moving his hands from his face, but not moving away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong moved his head up, eyes cloudy and distant. He stared at Johnny for three long seconds, as if trying to figure out how to form his thoughts into words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m a monster, Johnny,”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. Taeyong, you’re—“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am. I remember now. The things they made me do, I—“ Taeyong’s breath hitched in his throat, “Don’t lie to me. Don’t try and make me think different because I don’t deserve that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Taeyong…” Johnny, for once, was speechless. He had never seen Taeyong like this. It wasn’t the Taeyong he remembered and he realized then that he might never see that Taeyong again. He knew about the people the testers would bring in, forcing a child, a 12 year old, to kill day after day after day. He knew about the torturing, mutilation, manipulation and more that were all kept hidden from the world within those white walls. For once, he didn’t know how to answer him. He didn’t know what those experiences had turned Taeyong into during the years they were apart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny sighed, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. Taeyong looked around the room they were in, what looked to be a bedroom of sorts with several bunks lining the walls. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Johnny, where are we?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re in the dorms,” Johnny stood up, stretching a bit before offering his hand to Taeyong, “you feel well enough to stand up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong took his hand, hating the fact that his legs felt like they were going to give out as soon as he was standing. The wound in his side was throbbing as he stretched his cramped muscles out, too. “Where’s everyone else? Where’s your mask?” Taeyong felt a pit in his stomach, “Were we caught?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, we weren’t caught.” Johnny let out a small smile. “On our way to the dorms, some drones came up and started asking questions, but because I’m still not listed as a threat and in the system, they basically let us go through the facility freely, must’ve thought I was transporting you guys somewhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When you had your episode or whatever it was, we just needed to get you somewhere safe as fast as possible so I carried you here. The boys were scared, but I thought you might need some space so I shooed them and everyone else out of the room.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong looked at him, confused, “Everyone else?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah—“ Johnny started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Johnny?” A head of hair poked in through the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaehyun. Taeyong remembered him. The small boy had always been one Taeyong had tried to protect from the testers when he was younger. His heart raced at the sight of the now grown boy standing in the doorway, staring at Taeyong like he had seen a ghost.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, Jaehyun.” Taeyong said, waving his hand slightly in greeting. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Heyyy, everyone! This chapter is kind of all over the place, im sorry haha<br/>For some reason I couldn’t figure out how to express the images I saw in my mind when it came to this part of the story so I hope you are able to at least get somewhat of an idea of what I was trying to communicate. <br/>Yes, at this point I know it seems like Taeyong is having a mental breakdown every single chapter and you would probably be right, but it just always ended up that way whenever I try to write, im sorry taeyong!! &gt;&lt;<br/>Anyway, I hope you enjoy regardless<br/>I tried to add some soft johnny because who doesnt like that <br/>Things will get better...eventually haha<br/>Happy reading :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Others</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Taeyong felt suddenly exposed as numerous pairs of eyes seemed to bore holes into him with how hard the stares were.  </p>
<p>Some of the boys around him were content with staring at the ground, while others unashamedly let their mouths drop at the sight of Taeyong. </p>
<p>The silence was extreme and suffocating.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>here’s the second to last chapter! So in case anyone is confused, everyone from 127 is here plus Ten and Lucas that I felt I needed to add for some reason haha<br/>hope everything isn’t as confusing as I think it is 😅😅<br/>anyway hope you all enjoy! your comments and support on the series really motivate me even when I don’t like the story all that much haha <br/>thank you again! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, hi Taeyong.” Jaehyun said, stumbling into the room. He had definitely grown since Taeyong last saw him, now standing at Taeyong’s height despite being a few years younger. He had always been timid though, which was obvious in how the boy even now stood as if embarrassed in front of Taeyong, fingers fidgeting with his gray pants. It didn’t line up with his broad stature and gave Taeyong a tingling sensation in his stomach, only seeing the small kid he protected from nightmares and unwanted visits from testers when he was little. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His dark brown hair fell in soft waves on his head as he walked up beside Johnny. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, everyone was really worried.” His voice was deep and smooth like honey, a softer feeling than Johnny’s voice, Taeyong noticed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, I don’t really know what happened,” Taeyong said, feeling embarrassed at the thought that while he was trying to keep a tough exterior he had almost managed to completely sabotage the mission.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we were all just—we were,” Jaehyun started, looking between Johnny and Taeyong, “we couldn’t believe you were alive, Taeyong. I mean it’s been </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span> and suddenly you’re back </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaehyun’s arms hung awkwardly by his sides, occasionally coming up slightly just to stop and hang limply again as he talked. Taeyong felt Jaehyun’s silent urge for physical contact with him, to convince himself he was really there, and for once Taeyong would have happily obliged. With the sudden resurgence of his memories and having just gotten his breathing under control, to be held by someone he didn’t know until now that he missed dearly would have made Taeyong the happiest person in the world. Instead, he pushed the thought down because there was too much uncertainty, too much guilt, that still weighed heavy on his shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I-I don’t know how… I, uh…” Taeyong trailed off, unable to express his feelings in the moment. Should he tell Jaehyun how much he missed him when that wasn’t exactly the case either. How do you act around someone you only remembered existed mere moments before?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sensing Taeyong’s inner conflict, Johnny intervened, setting a hand on Jaehyun and Taeyong’s shoulder. “Listen it’s been a stressful past couple hours, let’s just meet everyone else and then we need to figure out what we’re gonna do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaehyun looked like he wanted to argue, but simply nodded and led the other two into the next room. It looked like a simple living space, an empty room except for cabinets which Taeyong assumed held food and other supplies, as well as a couch in the middle of the room and along the wall. Basically only the essentials, which was still rather small for the amount of people he saw gathered in the other room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as they stepped through the bedroom door, nine heads looked up at the newcomers. The room was filled with an anxious energy as Johnny led Taeyong to an empty spot on the couch, which Taeyong was thankful for as his legs still hadn’t stopped shaking. He wondered if Johnny did that on purpose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong felt suddenly exposed as numerous pairs of eyes seemed to bore holes into him with how hard the stares were.  Some of the boys around him were content with staring at the ground, while others unashamedly let their mouths drop at the sight of Taeyong. The silence was extreme and suffocating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taking in a deep inhale and exhale, Taeyong looked up from where he had been staring intently at fingernails and took a good look at each of the faces around him. They were situated all over the place, some sitting on top of cabinets situated on the floor, others standing by the wall or sitting on the ground. He recognized a few. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeil was there on the couch across from him, leaning on his knees with his head in his hands staring intently at Taeyong. His eyes were cold, and there were set worry lines by his mouth, almost turning his face into a grimace as he basically glared at Taeyong, but Taeyong was sure that was the Taeil he used to know. As he was older than Taeyong, he was sometimes tasked with helping him train, which is how they met. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck and Mark sat on either side of Taeil, leaning against him asleep, again. They had barely gotten any rest the past twenty-four hours and probably the past couple weeks they’ve been on the run, as well, so Taeyong understood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A boy with longer hair was sitting on the cabinets, it made Taeyong think of a cat with the way he was perched on the edge, body tense. He wasn’t staring at Taeyong, though. He was looking intently at literally anything else, his expression extremely passive. Yuta, that was his name, Taeyong thought. They were the same age, he remembered, but he couldn’t recall much, only feeling like they had been close at some point. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaehyun had walked over to the other side of Taeyong, towards a shy looking boy sitting next to but apart from Taeyong on the couch. He had messy, straight black hair and an extremely innocent look to his face, almost unsettling. Jaehyun hadn’t said anything, but he stood by the boy’s side exuding a comforting presence, reaching a hand to the nape of the boy’s neck and massaging it gently. Taeyong felt the boy’s name on the tip of his tongue. The shine in his eyes struck Taeyong as all-too familiar. What was it…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sicheng, do you want some water?” A voice spoke up from sitting almost lazily on the floor, back leaning on the couch facing Taeyong. Ten. That was someone Taeyong definitely recognized. The eyes shaped like foxes glimmered in the dimly lit room, careful and calculating as he took in the emotions of every person in the room. He was the only person, Taeyong realized, who wasn’t being entirely hostile to him, almost acting indifferent to the whole situation, though Taeyong had been reading people long enough to know that that was most likely not the case. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy on the couch, Sicheng, Taeyong remembered, spoke with a quiet voice, “Yes, I’d like that very much, please.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ten slapped the knee of the boy sitting behind him on the couch, who immediately stood up and walked toward the cabinets on the back wall. He was very tall, but had a childish face, maybe looked to be around Mark’s age. Taeyong didn’t recognize him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, can we stop with this whole staring contest, please?” An exasperated sounding voice came from against the wall. A boy was standing there, arms crossed, eyes lit with an angry spark. His face didn’t come up in Taeyong’s memory, but he held a commanding presence over the room like he had been there for years. “I mean really, this guy is obviously messed up, he’s too risky to keep here. I honestly don’t know what you were thinking Johnny. You are endangering every single person in this room by bringing this lunatic in here! Are you stu—“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s enough, Doyoung.” Johnny cut in. He was standing next to Taeyong at the end of the couch, quiet and out of the way because he wanted everyone else to talk first. He should’ve known that that wouldn’t be the case. “He’s here because he’s one of us. Taeyong is just as much one of my brothers as the rest of you are so I’m not going to tolerate any negative comments towards him, am I clear?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This took Taeyong by surprise. He had never never seen Johnny this stern before, eyes glaring coldly at each boy in the room. Taeyong’s head was still reeling from the word ‘brother’ to even notice Taeil suddenly standing up from his place on the couch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Johnny, I don’t know if you’ve realized, but this kid has been missing for </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He has been doing god-knows-what that entire time and judging by his episode earlier, his mental state must be extremely unstable to issue that kind of response. We have a complete right to be suspicious of him and his intentions. A lot can happen in eight—nine years? You’ve got to be joking if you expect us to treat him like our </span>
  <em>
    <span>brother</span>
  </em>
  <span>, right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a face-off between Taeil and Johnny, their glares clashing with so much frustration, everyone in the room was drawn to them. Doyoung got up from against the wall, walking to beside Taeil. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What gives you the right to be the leader and make those kinds of decisions, anyway,” Doyoung spat, voice full of venom, “We have enough to deal with trying to protect ten of us and you just had to go and add another one onto the pile. What about the kids, huh? Lucas, Mark, and Hyuck? You gonna endanger their lives, too, all because of your fucking selfish ass wanting everything to go back to the way it was before </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> left? Hate to break it to you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>brother</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but that man,” he pointed at Taeyong, “is a brainwashed killer who probably doesn’t even remember half of the people in this fucking room.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anger radiated off of Johnny in waves. “Whatever Taeyong has done was no fault of his. We were all trained to be brainwashed killers. I don’t know how that makes him any different from us.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeil was holding back, staring at the floor instead of arguing with Johnny any longer, but Doyoung wasn’t done. He stepped up to Johnny, only inches away from his face, and if looks could kill—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, please stop, doie, please.” A quiet voice spoke as a boy almost as tall as Johnny started trying to pull Doyoung back from Johnny, hands grabbing his arms tight. Doyoung didn’t move, though, standing still as a statue as he continued to glare daggers into Johnny’s eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Doyoung, please—“ The boy whimpered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You woke Mark and Donghyuck.” Jaehyun gazed steadily at Johnny and Doyoung, ready to step in at the first indication things were going to get physical.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately everyone turned to look at the corner of the couch where Mark and Donghyuck were sitting up, wide awake and staring at Doyoung with so much fear and confusion. This was enough for Doyoung to lessen his guard a bit, letting the boy who was close to tears drag him back a bit, wrapping his arms around him securely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny walked over to Mark and Donghyuck, mainly instinct that lead him to pull both boys into a hug and ease whatever distress they felt. He would deal with Doyoung’s reckless comments later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doyoung still stood with the boy in the center of the room, holding him as he hid his face in Doyoung's shoulder. “Hey, Jungwoo it’s okay. Everything is okay, shhh.” Taeyong could hear him whispering to the boy, wondering how things had even ended up like this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy who had left to grab water for Sicheng, Lucas was his name, hurriedly deposited the glass into his hands before sitting on the floor next to Ten and leaning his head on his shoulder, obviously someone who needed comfort, too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yuta had hopped off his perch on the cabinets and walked over to the back of the couch, hugging Mark with Johnny. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeil hadn’t moved from his spot. No one spoke, but the atmosphere crackled with the built up tension.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong stood up from the couch, withholding a pained grunt from the wound in his side. “I’m sorry. It seems my presence is problematic for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Taeyong, no—“ Jaehyun started, everyone now looking at Taeyong in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, Jaehyun, uh, everyone, listen. You’re right, I’ve done things that would make even Johnny never sleep another night in his life. I’m a brainwashed killer, I barely remember who you all are and where I fit into whatever this is. You shouldn’t trust me. You should be suspicious, and if you weren’t, that’s stupid. My plan was never to come here and help you all escape. I was paid to kill Mark and Donghyuck. Why the fuck would you want me here with you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone was stunned. Taeyong didn’t miss the grip that tightened slightly around Mark and Donghyuck as he said that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I only came for information,” Taeyong continued, “I need to know about my life before the facility. If there really is a place I can call my home or a family that I can call mine because frankly, I’m done with not knowing anything. I’m sick of it and I’d rather die than keep living without these answers, killing and stealing and hurting every single fucking day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll leave now, so don’t worry. I won’t be a risk to your operation if I can help it and honestly, I hope you all make it out of the obvious hell this place is.” Taeyong finished solemnly, looking at each one of their shocked faces before walking towards the door that he guessed must lead out of the room. His heart ached as he continued walking, one foot after the other and no one said a word. He knew he had already made the mistake of sticking around too long, possibly already getting attached to the people he had spent only twenty-four hours with. But he was right, they didn’t want him and he would only be thrown away, again, so no use in staying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hand was raised over the panel that opened the white door in front of him when a voice finally raised above the stifling silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Taeyong, wait—“ Mark stood only a few feet behind him, arms out and huge round eyes pleading for Taeyong, before the entire back wall of the room exploded.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Tremors</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Taeyong was dizzy as he tried to sit up, eyes not able to focus on one spot in front of him. </p>
<p>His arms felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, but he lifted them to the side of his head and whacked his ears, suddenly forgetting which side of his head had the mask capsule. </p>
<p>In his unstable state, he was able to hit the capsule and get it to eject, the black mask immediately covering his face and filtering out the dust and smoke-filled air he had been breathing in. </p>
<p>The ringing in his ears was gradually lessening and his eyes were starting to focus, though they burned with the effort. </p>
<p>Taeyong felt the warmth of blood dripping down his legs and he was afraid to look at his side, knowing without having to see that he was definitely going to need a new bandage.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HI GUYS<br/>IM SO SORRY its been so long since I updated T-T<br/>I just got so unexpectedly busy with school and stuff that I completely lost all time to write, but now that I have one semester down, I'm finally making time for myself again so expect at least more frequent updates haha :)<br/>Thanks so much for all the support on the series so far! There's only one more chapter left after this one....</p>
<p>hope you enjoy and happy reading~ :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The blast pushed everyone back, blowing the room almost completely in two. The lights were sparking and flickering, dust-filled every corner making it impossible for Taeyong to see less than two feet in front of him. He had been shoved hard into the wall in front of him, falling onto his injured side with so much force he almost blacked out from the sudden pain. He couldn’t hear anything except a never-ending high pitched whine in his ears. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong was dizzy as he tried to sit up, eyes not able to focus on one spot in front of him. His arms felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, but he lifted them to the side of his head and whacked his ears, suddenly forgetting which side of his head had the mask capsule. In his unstable state, he was able to hit the capsule and get it to eject, the black mask immediately covering his face and filtering out the dust and smoke-filled air he had been breathing in. The ringing in his ears was gradually lessening and his eyes were starting to focus, though they burned with the effort. Taeyong felt the warmth of blood dripping down his legs and he was afraid to look at his side, knowing without having to see that he was definitely going to need a new bandage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A small whimper stopped Taeyong from his self-diagnosis as Mark was laying on his side a few feet in front of him, clutching his chest. Taeyong sprang up and shakily crawled to Mark, hands investigating for any sign of injury on the boy. There was nothing, which gave him some relief until Mark started coughing up blood. Taeyong had never felt more panicked in his life as he held the small boy in his arms, covering his mouth as if that would stop the blood from spraying out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He needed Johnny. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong frantically looked around the now destroyed room, spotting the two couches now bent in half from the explosion and pushed far away from where they originally lay. Huge chunks of concrete from the wall and the ceiling covered the floor, dust and smaller pieces breaking off every few seconds. He could barely see the vague forms of bodies splayed out across the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh god. Oh god.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong reached under Mark’s arms, dragging him towards the door. He slammed his hand against the open panel which somehow still functioned, stuttering as their only way out slid open, maddeningly slow. Dragging Mark out of the room, Taeyong laid him against the wall of the outside hallway. It wasn’t the best, but Taeyong had to go back in for the others, there was no time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Getting to his feet released a new wave of dizziness as Taeyong half-ran half-fell back into the dorms. He wasn’t thinking as he ran to the pile of unconscious people, searching for any sign of Donghyuck or Johnny among them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny was the easiest to find, his tall body laying on top of Yuta and Taeil as if he was shielding them from the explosion. Taeyong slapped Johnny’s ear praying to God his mask was still there. To his relief, it ejected and within a few seconds had completely covered Johnny’s dust-covered face. A few moments more and Johnny began to stir with the now steady flow of oxygen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wha… Taeyong? What—“ Johnny wavered as he struggled to sit up. Taeyong helped him up, hands-on both of Johnny’s shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to help everyone else out, now.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny seemed to be able to understand the words Taeyong said through the pain and nodded before grabbing Taeil and Yuta and heaving them up with him as he managed to stand. He was strong, stronger than Taeyong, for sure. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go get the others,” Johnny grunted before making his way towards the exit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Why am I even doing this, Taeyong thought as he stepped over the others, desperately trying to shake awake anyone he could find. He was just about to leave them—he had </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted</span>
  </em>
  <span> to leave them—so why the hell was he staying now to save them?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doyoung and Jungwoo were lying side by side, obviously, heavy blows to their head were evident by the smeared red that covered the side of their faces. Even through the steady stream of blood, Doyoung’s eyelids began fluttering and with Taeyong’s frantic shaking he opened his eyes fully. He needed no explanation from Taeyong as he lifted Jungwoo onto his back and barely managed to carry the tallboy to the open door across the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaehyun and Sicheng were perhaps the worst of all. They had been the ones closest to the wall before the explosion, Taeyong remembered. It took all of his determination to carry himself over to where Jaehyun lay, leg pinned under a huge piece of concrete that had broken off the wall. Sicheng was miraculously conscious and clinging to Jaehyun with tears in his eyes, cradling his head and refusing to leave no matter what. Taeyong immediately tried putting his hands beneath the concrete attempting to lift it up enough to slide Jaehyun out from under it, but every time he tried, the effort would send waves of pain to his side, almost crippling him. He knew it was useless to keep trying, but he still knelt there, hands under the insurmountable obstacle, screaming in agony at the pain and desperation of trying to save Jaehyun. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right when he felt like his muscles weren’t willing to work a second longer, a strong body knelt beside him. Johnny was there, hands under the concrete with Taeyong.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, ready? We’re gonna lift on three, one more time, we can do it.” Johnny’s voice reached Taeyong’s ears like a shot of sudden energy. Taeyong gathered his strength and as Johnny reached ‘three’, he shoved upwards with all his might and felt the concrete stone lift with Johnny and his combined efforts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, Sicheng!” Taeyong yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaehyun was pulled out in a matter of seconds, Sicheng not so carefully picking up the still unconscious boy into his arms and running towards the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong looked around the room for the remaining bodies he had to save. “Where is Ten and the boy—uh, Lucas?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny helped Taeyong to his feet. “Don’t worry I grabbed them earlier, Ten is awake and helping take care of everyone else.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of marching feet and the hum of guns being heated up from outside the destroyed wall caught their attention. Well, shit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck happened? What do we do?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They must have figured out that we’re here and decided it’d be better to just kill us all now before we can do anything,” Johnny answered shoving Taeyong behind him as they backed away from the destroyed wall and towards the door. They stood in fighting positions, now the adrenaline was enough to cover the perpetual dizzy feeling Taeyong felt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wait a minute, was that really everyone?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong gasped, “Where’s Donghyuck?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny’s panicked look at Taeyong told him all he needed to know. They hadn’t grabbed Donghyuck. He was with Johnny before the blast, where could he have gone?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without a second thought, Taeyong charged back toward the wall, willing to search underneath every piece of rubble for Donghyuck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Taeyong, no! Go back to the others, I’ll look for him!” Johnny tried to grab Taeyong’s arm, but Taeyong twisted in his grip until he was able to slide out. Donghyuck’s shining brown eyes were the only thing burned into his mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He heard Johnny shouting behind him, but he didn’t stop, didn’t turn around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The vague silhouettes of soldiers shone through the dust and smoke. The yellow glow from their guns cutting through the dark. Taeyong would fight to his last breath if it meant finding Donghyuck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hyuck! Donghyuck!” Taeyong screamed until his voice cracked. He searched every large concrete slab, under the broken couches, in the dust-covered corners. He shuddered at the bright red splatters that shined against the white stone walls. The small boy was nowhere to be found. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” Johnny yelled as Taeyong felt a presence over his shoulder, immediately falling to the floor and sweeping his legs out around him, kicking over the black soldier that had snuck up behind him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the soldier was lying on his back, Taeyong grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm until the rather large gun in his hand was free from his clutches. Taeyong wasted no time in shooting the man on the ground before turning back to Johnny who was engaged in hand-to-hand combat with three soldiers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He aimed his gun at the back of one of the soldier's heads and fired, the aim assist on his mask helping him see through all the smoke. The soldier dropped immediately, allowing Johnny to finish the other off with a quick blow to the head and a swift slice of his knife. He took the gun from the soldier he just killed, signaling to Taeyong in thanks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five more were coming through the opening and Taeyong thought another six or more would soon follow. The chances of a probable positive outcome were rapidly depleting in Taeyong’s mind, but despite that he sprinted forward, using his boots to jump ten feet in the air directly above one of the black figures. The guy didn’t have enough time to react as Taeyong’s foot hit his face pushing him completely over onto his back. Taeyong quickly pulled the trigger before rolling to the side and shooting another one in his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t have time to look behind him, however, as he barely dodged a sudden blast from another soldier, the shot melting straight through the rubble. Taeyong dropped the gun and used his boots to push him off the ground once more as he flipped backward towards the person who had tried to shoot him. His hands were out as he soared over the soldier’s head before grabbing his helmet and harshly twisting his neck to the side with a sharp </span>
  <em>
    <span>crack</span>
  </em>
  <span>, breaking the soldier’s neck before landing on the other side of the now lifeless body with all the grace of a bird landing on its perch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Grabbing the abandoned gun from the dead soldier’s hands, Taeyong turned back and saw Johnny, as well as Yuta and Ten, all fending off the remaining soldiers easily in hand-to-hand combat. Even though they each had their own distinct style, they all moved with the same unnatural grace as Taeyong, and it was mesmerizing to watch as he realized this was proof that they had all trained together in this place in years past. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Taeyong!” Johnny shouted, twisting his knife into a soldier’s chest and kicking him to the ground, “They have Donghyuck!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What? How did they get him? How?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I saw them take him away right after the explosion, but I couldn’t stop them!” Yuta yelled over the scream of the last soldier remaining, promptly ended by Ten’s quick hands around his neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ten wiped his bloodied hands on his gray shirt. “What about the others?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeil stood in the doorway several feet behind them all, hunched over but still very much awake, “Don’t worry, I got them. Just find Donghyuck!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny, Ten, and Yuta nodded before sprinting to where Taeyong was standing outside the room. The destroyed section of the dorms opened up to a wide white hallway. The place seemed to shudder every few moments, the ceiling releasing a cloud of dust from the apparent cracks spidering up all the walls around them, which reminded Taeyong that they were, in fact, underground, which also meant they needed to leave and quickly. Whoever thought it was a good idea to blow up their own secret underground base was definitely not qualified to be running this place, Taeyong thought, regardless of all the other shit he had done to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alarms still blared throughout the space, red lights flashing down the length of the room were disorienting to Taeyong as he tried to think of what to do next. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Tae!” Johnny called, standing tall and gruff next to him, but that didn’t make Taeyong any less threatening. “What are we gonna do?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong answered harshly, “Find Donghyuck.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Numbers 00, 29, 07, and 10. You have breached facility protocol and are hereby identified as enemies of the state. Stop now unless you wish to put your lives in danger as well as the lives of your friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yuta wiped his blade on his pants, leaving a streak of red against the faded gray, knuckles whitening against the hilt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know who that is!” Ten spoke out, breaking the tense silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny turned quizzically to look at Ten, “Who?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s the Dictator, the guy who took control of Seoul.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And put all of us in here.” Taeyong finished.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yuta leaned against the wall, trying to calm his breathing. “Do you happen to know how to get to him?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A nod from Ten earned a gasp from all of them. “Wha--how? I mean, no one even knows what he looks like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ten sighed, small body sagging a little as if the answer was physically weighing him down, “It’s a long story. We did business in the past, I’ll tell you later.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>If there is a later.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taeyong wanted to learn more about his new mysterious ally, but the situation at hand was too urgent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Follow me.” Ten ran ahead of the rest of them and they quickly followed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was strange, they encountered little to no resistance, but once again that only served to trigger the warning bells in Taeyong’s head. The facility was small, so he didn’t expect a whole army to come after him, maybe even just a few more trained Special Ops. but other than that, something wasn’t right. If it was too easy, he could be damn sure they were in for it as soon as they reached the Dictator. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their sprint down the hallway was a barrage of heavy footsteps and harsh breathing, the blow from the blast obviously still affecting them all. They followed Ten as he raced down the stark white strip, body low like a crouching panther ready to spring. Twisting and turning in a seemingly endless cycle, Taeyong was afraid Ten actually had no idea where they were going until he suddenly stopped, leading them all to huge white, surprisingly, wooden doors. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was nowhere else to run as if all of their efforts to that moment had been leading them to that point. Taeyong looked to Johnny who gave him a curt nod before readying his own stance for combat. Taking the cue, Taeyong pulled the dagger from his boot, crouching low in a similar formation to the others as Yuta strode forward and kicked the doors apart, almost shattering the hinges with his brute strength. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lunging forward into the room, Taeyong leaped to the front, not even taking the time to process his surroundings before jumping onto the desk located in the center of the room and positioning his knife at the neck of the man sitting in front of him with a smile on his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man was old, skin appearing more wrinkly than the cobweb of cracks threatening to bring the whole place down on them. His eyes were dark, so dark Taeyong could see his masked reflection in the man’s pupils. Though Taeyong was only centimeters away from ending his life, the man simply smiled up at him, but it created a pit in Taeyong’s stomach as the smile never reached his eyes. He ignored the sudden twist of his stomach as he put a foot on the man’s chest, pushing him away from the desk, still seated in his chair. Taeyong towered over him, letting his mask eject in order to look the old man straight in the eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wanted to see the life drain from the man’s face as he slit his throat. He knew this was the person responsible for all the killing, all the torture, all the pain Taeyong had to experience in his young life. He knew this in his heart, this truth thrumming in his chest as his heart pounded and time seemed to stretch the seconds longer and longer. There was nothing more in the world that Taeyong wanted more than to kill that man right then and there, but the labored breathing of Johnny, Yuta, and Ten stopped him. His own need for answers halted his hand from bringing down the blade upon that withered throat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where is Donghyuck?” Taeyong growled pushing the old man back until the chair hit the wall behind him. The man-made no attempt to try and stop Taeyong, simply stared back into his eyes with the same cold smile on his lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My, my, my. Lee Taeyong. What a masterpiece you have become.” his voice was raspy, like the air was leaking out of his lungs as he was trying to speak, almost as if he was already dying. “I’ve always dreamt of the day we would meet again, face to face.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t care. I won’t ask again. Where’s Donghyuck.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At that the man started laughing, grating, wheezing laughs that left him hunched over under Taeyong’s grip, coughing harshly to the side before taking in a shaky breath. “You haven’t changed a bit, you know. The boy is fine, just needed a little leverage to guide you into my office, which you have done quite efficiently, well done.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a wave of his hand, a white cabinet door opened on the wall revealing Donghyuck, unconscious and situated awkwardly within the small dresser. Johnny immediately ran over to take the limp boy out, holding him in his arms as he desperately checked for a pulse. Taeyong was still focused on the man grinning in front of him, but he was surprised at the slight flutter of relief in his heart, cursing himself for letting his guard down that much in this situation. The walls let out a rumble, more clouds of dust dislodging from the deepening crevices. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s go, leave the old guy, and let’s go meet the others before this whole place falls.” Ten said, already leading the others a foot out the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Taeyong wasn’t done. He still had his mission, the whole point of him being there in the first place. The answers he sought were here in this room, either within one of the many cabinets lining the walls, within the computer database on the desk, but most likely, from the very person Taeyong was pressing his foot against at that moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you guys leave without me,” Taeyong said pressing the knife just ever so slightly closer to the man’s neck, “I have business I need to finish.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He heard the groan of protest from Johnny and even though it was silent, Taeyong heard the unspoken debate between the three of them. Stay with Taeyong out of a sense of guilt? Responsibility? Taeyong didn’t know, but if they seriously didn’t leave within the next thirty seconds they were even more stupid than Taeyong gave them credit for. They barely knew him in the first place, or at least whatever Taeyong they did know those eight years ago didn’t exist in the Taeyong today. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the seconds stretched on, Taeyong grew frustrated, “Go! Leave before this place goes to shit! Think of the kids.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But, Taeyo--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“GO!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Johnny could get another word in, Ten grabbed his arm and they all ran from the room, Donghyuck in their arms and tremors following their echoed footsteps. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now--Taeyong turned back to the man wheezing in the chair--back to business.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Soooooo,,,,yes another cliffhanger IM SORRY <br/>this chapter just got so long I felt I had to cut it off and save the very anticipated conclusion to the next chapter haha<br/>again, im so sorry for not updating--Im trying to be better!!<br/>I also really want to write more so if you have any requests or suggestions I would love to hear them!</p>
<p>oh and I reread everything I wrote before this and wanted to die :D why was my writing so badddd im sorrry hahaha I mean my writing isn't much better now, but still that was painful to read<br/>n e way glad yall are enjoying it!<br/>stay tuned ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>He breathed heavily, feeling the pressure in his chest increase by the second as the reality of the situation was slowly dawning on him. </p>
<p>His eyes bore into the deep pits of the spidery man before him, searching for any hint of remorse, guilt, empathy.</p>
<p>Instead, all he received was a bitter laugh. </p>
<p>Piercing the sparking silence that was pulled taut between them. </p>
<p>Words left unsaid, reasons left unanswered drifted through the air, settling in the small piles of dust on the floor of a room on the verge of crumbling beneath their feet. </p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The man quivered beneath Taeyong's icy glare. The room was silent except for the distant siren that pierced through the murky air. The rasping of the old man's breath was the only thing Taeyong could focus on. </p>
<p>This is it, Taeyong thought, if he wanted to get any of the answers he sought after, it was now or never, so why was he unable to think of a single thing to ask?</p>
<p>As if sensing his inner conflict, the man let out a throaty chuckle. Honestly, it was impressive he had the right-of-mind to still be amused with a knife pressed to his neck and the ceiling of an underground bunker about to cave in on them at any second. </p>
<p>"I bet you're wondering why, huh?" The man said, relaxing further in his chair even with Taeyong pressing his foot into his chest. </p>
<p>Taeyong only responded with silence. Of course he was wondering, but now that he was here, he wasn't entirely sure what would change if he knew. Knowing his past wouldn't change the horrible things he had done, wouldn't bring him the family he was stolen from as a child--they might as well be dead. But then he thought of Johnny, his only living memory. He thought of Jaehyun and Taeil and Yuta, all the people who played a prominent role in his past, even if it was still hazy in his mind. Mark and sweet Donghyuck, who Taeyong realized he might care for a little more than he had convinced himself he did. Even after only a little over 24 hours, those kids had found him when he was at his lowest and managed to wrap their little claws around his stone heart. </p>
<p>He had to know, he realized, for them.</p>
<p>The man was growing impatient, gazing boredly at the desk in front of him as if this was just a normal day at work for him. "I hope you know that whatever you are going to ask has to be quick, this place is going to collapse in 3 minutes and 33 seconds."</p>
<p>"WHAT?" Taeyong growled, sure he knew they didn't have all day, but three minutes?</p>
<p>"I set this place to self-destruct. You really think I would be stupid enough to let my soldiers blow up the dormitory with an explosion big enough to collapse the entire place? I'm offended." He huffed, "This whole operation was a failed experiment. No matter what we tried, we couldn't sever the bonds you all created between each other. Even when we tried to see what it would be like to separate you from the rest of them--throwing you into the outside world to see how you would react--we couldn't erase the one memory of Johnny from your mind. Quite annoying."</p>
<p>Taeyong's brain was playing catch-up, trying his hardest to process the words coming out of this psycho's lips. They threw him out on purpose? Had they been watching him all this time?</p>
<p>"I've already destroyed all the evidence on our hard drives, the only thing left to do would be to destroy the Facility and execute the remaining subjects. Of course, that did not completely go to plan, did it?" The man lifted his gaze up to Taeyong's swirling black irises, reveling in the pain slowly drifting through his tough exterior. He smiled, "I'm who they call the Dictator of Seoul. It's very nice to meet you after all these years, Taeyong. I'm a huge fan of your work. In fact, we met earlier, but I'm afraid I had to distort the interface of your mask so you wouldn't find out who I was."</p>
<p>The man who gave him the job: find the subjects. He was the start of this all, and he had been right in front of Taeyong's face without him even realizing it. </p>
<p>"I only took this place of power because I could do it very easily," he continued, "and I needed the resources and money that came with that position to fund my little fun experiment you've all been apart of. If I wasn't the scary 'Dictator' no one would ever listen to me, but this was going to be our future! Our future, I guarantee it! To be able to alter the minds of human beings, set them to specific tasks with no emotional or physical detriments, to still have the instincts and intuition that one simply cannot replicate with mere androids, it was going to change everything!" His voice was booming, the grating sound of his breathing slowly dissipated through the newfound passion in his words. Taeyong could only stare in disbelief. "But, alas, this is where my chapter ends. I admit my defeat. I was wrong. Human beings are far too complex to ever understand, to ever dream of having the ability to control their very thoughts, and it will always be my greatest folly."</p>
<p>The building shook, Taeyong thought of the others. Hopefully, they had gotten everyone out. Hopefully, they were safe.</p>
<p>"Did I answer all your thoughts? Are you satisfied with the result?"</p>
<p>No, he was not satisfied. To even begin to believe that this was all just because some insane person wanted to test out his twisted scientific theory on people without anyone knowing was beyond all comprehension. And now there was nothing left. Even if Taeyong wanted to grab extra information, all the databases were destroyed, and now he wasn't even sure if he wanted to know specifics about his own childhood.</p>
<p>"What about..." Taeyong stuttered, hating how his voice shook, "I don't understand. You're just...fine with everything you've built falling to the ground? You don't care about the lives you've ruined?" his voice got steadily louder as the fury he had been hiding for so long, the anger he had always felt and never knew why was leaking through the cracks in his voice. The now constant shaking and clouds of dust blanketing the room was nonexistent between himself and the man who had destroyed his entire life. "Do you even care about the horrors you put on literal children? Do you feel nothing about the fucking hell you've put me through? Just so I could play your game?!"</p>
<p>He breathed heavily, feeling the pressure in his chest increase by the second as the reality of the situation was slowly dawning on him. His eyes bore into the deep pits of the spidery man before him, searching for any hint of remorse, guilt, empathy.</p>
<p>Instead, all he received was a bitter laugh. Piercing the sparking silence that was pulled taut between them. Words left unsaid, reasons left unanswered drifted through the air, settling in the small piles of dust on the floor of a room on the verge of crumbling beneath their feet. </p>
<p>"But don't you see," The man rasped, his body losing the relaxed feeling he had been exhibiting before, almost as if the strength was slowly leaking out of him, "One of my efforts didn't fail."</p>
<p>He stared into Taeyong's gaze, a strange light illuminating the dead smile on his face. Taeyong felt his heart stop, his breath quicken as the man leaned forward, uncaring that the blade still being held to his throat was slowly sinking into his flesh, a line of almost black liquid trickling out of the cut. </p>
<p>The weak feeling that Taeyong had been cursed with for all this time was making its strongest comeback yet, his whole body on the edge of hyperventilating, mind racing as he tried to comprehend the poison laced in the Dictator's words. All those terrible, terrible things he's done, were they because of him or the person who made him this way?</p>
<p>Time was ticking, the chance of making it out of that room in Taeyong's mind was thrown out the window as he found himself in a state of shock, the man hacking and coughing away before him as his laugh grew and grew.</p>
<p>"You see?!" He screamed, "You were the only successful experiment! You were my greatest accomplishment! The things we made you do at the snap of a finger, my, you're the most powerful weapon we have!" His eyes were crazy, staring wide, but not really at Taeyong, more like through him. All those jobs Taeyong had been doing since he had woken up on the side of the road of that fateful day, the rain spilling onto his face as he took his first breath of the outside world. The people he had killed, tortured, taken away from their families, their loved ones, all because he thought that was just the way of the world, that was just how it was. He had always wondered how he had made it this long by himself, with no real motivation for doing the things he did, working with no guilt about his actions, that eternal numbness that had plagued him for years--only easing up for the periods of "weakness" he'd suddenly experience. It was like the pieces were fitting together. Had he been working for them this entire time? </p>
<p>"But you're mine! You are my creation! I MADE YOU!" He continued, taking in haggard breath after breath as if he couldn't get enough, "and now, I can die knowing that no one else can have you."</p>
<p>Out of the blank abyss of his mind, a single thought cut through the chaos, the one part of Taeyong still thinking rationally about the situation, his mind still fighting to survive even though the rest of him wanted nothing more than to give up right there. </p>
<p>The man was dying, blood pooling at the corners of his mouth from an unknown source, not even caring that the pressure of the knife was increasing as he laughed. All that talking was just stalling. Stalling for Taeyong to not have enough time to leave the room before the entire place was decimated, and he was going to die here, with his creator, just like the old man wanted. Taeyong would not give in to this man's last wish.</p>
<p>Before the supposed Dictator of Seoul could utter another sound, Taeyong slit his throat, black blood spurting through as the hysteric laughter was officially silenced. He wasn't about to let that monster die before he had a chance to kill him himself. </p>
<p>The body crumpled to the floor, no longer held up by the weight of Taeyong's foot. He knew he should get out while he could, but his energy had left him.</p>
<p>Everything he knew about himself was wrong. He had been a tool, not even human, for the majority of his life. Why did he deserve to even try to escape when his existence was cut down to such an insignificant size? Just the thought of having to live with this knowledge, with these awful memories that made him sick to even think about, was enough to carry his frail body to the floor. </p>
<p>Kicking the corpse away from him, he rested his back against the desk, feeling the ever-increasing vibrations in the ground through his palms. Tentatively, he reached a hand to his side where his wound was and as he lifted it to his face, he wasn't surprised to see his fingers coated in blood. He pressed his sticky fingers together, observing the blood shining against his pale skin, feeling a heavy kind of peace, a pressure keeping his body on the floor. As long as the others had escaped, he was content to close his eyes and drift away under the shuddering concrete walls right then.</p>
<p>Seoul would be a bloodbath after this. If they wanted any hope of living a normal life, Taeyong hoped they'd be able to leave Seoul's borders and travel somewhere else in the world, away from the horrific memories of the past. </p>
<p>A large crash resonated through the small room, but Taeyong didn't even have the energy to flinch. The back wall of the small office had caved in, and he stared emptily as he watched the deep crevice expand into a spiderweb of cracks branching closer and closer to where he was sitting. </p>
<p>Taeyong shut his eyes, closing out the world around him. The pool of blood was soaking through his clothes, and he wasn't sure if it was his own blood or the man he had just slaughtered. He lay in its warmth, mind still too numb to process the truth of his existence. He was created to be a killer, and he would die one. </p>
<p>He rested his head against the back of the desk, waiting for the inevitable end to come, the final mission he had to complete. At least the memories would be gone. </p>
<p>Then, he heard it.</p>
<p>Almost like a hallucination, Taeyong thought he really must be dying then if it was this close, this present...this warm.</p>
<p>It was a laugh. Loud and bright, a comfort that seemed to wrap itself around his shivering form. He had heard this laugh before, in his dreams, night after night of being awoken by the horrors of his own mind. The laugh belonged to a brown-eyed boy, always smiling, always ready to give an embrace to anyone who needed it, and at that moment he knew that lovely, lovely sound of pure happiness, was directed just for him. </p>
<p>"Johnny..." Taeyong smiled, able to picture his most precious memory in his mind as if Johnny was kneeling right in front of him, all those years ago. He never got to tell him how much he loved that laugh, that bright smile that could keep even the darkest of fears away. That kept Taeyong sane all those years surviving by himself. </p>
<p>He sighed, relaxing his body into the feeling of that warmth that could only come from the slight upturn of Johnny's lips, the way his eyes would sparkle and turn into soft crescents when he laughed, his arms reaching out for contact just to let the other person know everything was going to be okay. </p>
<p>Just as the darkness completely took over, he felt strong arms around his shoulders, a brief feeling of weightlessness, and he smiled, the world collapsing around him as he gave into the warm pull of unconsciousness.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OOPS I LIED<br/>I actually split the very, very last chapter into two again but DON'T WORRY I'm posting both right away so you don't have to wait weeks for me to update again haha</p>
<p>soooooo are these answers up to your satisfaction?? honestly, I'm in such a hurry to finally be done with this story that I'm not sure if my writing is coherent enough :') I really hope you all aren't just really fucking confused right now lmao</p>
<p>anyway, I really really appreciate the support! thank you again for reading and pleaseee let me know any suggestions for things you want to read next! I really like writing just normal canon stories, as well, and your comments really motivate me!</p>
<p>luv u allllll<br/>onto the last chapter ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Free</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Taeyong was the most skilled person Johnny had ever met, surely he would have been able to get out.</p>
<p>But there was a small part in Johnny's mind that wasn't so sure. </p>
<p>When they left, they had barely been gone for five minutes, leaving not a whole lot of time to escape anyway, especially if Taeyong was still dealing with whoever was waiting for them in the room. </p>
<p>He had trusted his instincts when Taeyong was first taken from him, believing he was alive when everyone else called him crazy for doing so. </p>
<p>Johnny wasn't about to let Taeyong be taken from him, again</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Johnny shivered, rubbing the palms of his hands together in an attempt to bring some form of warmth to his hands in the frigid night air. </p>
<p>The others were all huddled around the fire he and Yuta had managed to put together, no one really in the mood to try and get any sleep. They had been walking for hours, just about making it to the border of Seoul before deciding to stop before they all passed out from the chaos of the day.</p>
<p>After the Capitol building had been demolished and the security drones had all suddenly been disabled, littered around the city in metal heaps, the crowds of people creating overwhelming layers of chaos in the streets had been enough cover to hide the group of 12 boys making their escape from the smoking ruins. </p>
<p>Johnny was the last one out of the building, but he still had a bitter taste in his mouth from the last time he saw Taeyong, screaming at them to run. He stopped, standing outside the building he knew would be collapsing at any second, feeling a sudden urge to throw up as he remembered his friend still trapped inside. </p>
<p>Mark glanced back at him, the panicked look in his eyes was evident from twenty feet away. "Johnny? Where's Taeyong?"</p>
<p>Johnny grimaced, the twisted feeling in his gut keeping him from moving forward to catch up with the rest of the group. Ten was shaking his head, walking from Johnny's side to Mark's before patting his shoulder in what was supposed to be a comforting manner, then running off to help Taeil with whoever may need it across the bustling city plaza.</p>
<p>The silence he received told Mark all he needed to know, but the look from Johnny only confirmed his suspicions. </p>
<p>"No! Wait," Mark pushed through the surge of people beginning to separate him from Johnny, "We have to go back for him! We can't leave him!"</p>
<p>He stood in front of Johnny, hair a mess and the residue of dirt and what looked like dried blood all over his face, gazing up with pleading eyes as Johnny stared solemnly back. </p>
<p>"Mark, I--"</p>
<p>"We need to go." Yuta appeared behind the trembling boy, placing a hand on his shoulder that was clearly meant to keep Mark from running back inside the facility, just in case. </p>
<p>Mark put his arm across his face, hiding the tears threatening to spill over. He let himself be guided away from the haunting sight by Yuta. </p>
<p>Johnny sighed, knowing what he had to do. "Hey, Yuta," he called.</p>
<p>The long-haired man turned around, confusion evident on his features, "I'm going back to find him. Make sure you get everyone somewhere safe, alright?"</p>
<p>With a yell of protest from Yuta, Johnny quickly turned back around and charged into the depths of smoke and soot. It was obvious that the place was gonna crash at any moment, but Taeyong had sacrificed so much for them, and his memory of the once bright kid who always gazed up at him with the whole galaxy caught in his eyes pulled him deeper and deeper, down, down, down.</p>
<p>He lifted his t-shirt up over his face, trying his best not to breathe in any of the foul air, but within seconds he was already coughing, lungs burning with each intake of breath. Still, he pushed onwards, using his memory to bring him back down the white hallways, past the broken wall and the bodies scattered in the dark shadows, until he reached the wooden doors. They were open, but the room was dark, or at least, to Johnny it was as he tried his best to look around through squinted lids, eyes watering through all the smoke. He kicked the half-open door, almost breaking it off its hinges.</p>
<p>"TAEYONG!" He screamed amidst the chaos, praying to dear god that he wasn't too late and Taeyong could hear him over the sirens and rumbling of the unstable structure surrounding them. Suddenly, there was a huge crash, causing Johnny to stumble back a few steps, holding his arms over his face as his body gave in to another fit of coughs with the new waves of concrete dust filling the air. </p>
<p>He tried again, "Tae...Taeyong! Where are you?!"</p>
<p>Maybe Taeyong had managed to escape already. Maybe Johnny would find him already smiling and laughing in the new day's sunshine as soon as he made it to the surface once again. Taeyong was the most skilled person Johnny had ever met, surely he would have been able to get out.</p>
<p>But there was a small part in Johnny's mind that wasn't so sure. When they left, they had barely been gone for five minutes, leaving not a whole lot of time to escape anyway, especially if Taeyong was still dealing with whoever was waiting for them in the room. He had trusted his instincts when Taeyong was first taken from him, believing he was alive when everyone else called him crazy for doing so. Johnny wasn't about to let Taeyong be taken from him, again. </p>
<p>Rubble and chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling at a quicker pace, Johnny just barely got out of the way in time. If he didn't hurry, none of them would be getting out alive. </p>
<p>"Taeyong! Please, answer me!"</p>
<p>His foot suddenly hit something hard. Not rock hard, something that felt like... a leg?</p>
<p>Heart pounding with adrenaline, he bent down immediately to the floor, feeling for the body he had stumbled upon.</p>
<p>Please be alive. Please be alive. Please be alive.</p>
<p>He ran his fingers through the person's hair, feeling the obviously dyed tips of the dry locks. He caressed a gentle hand over the face, feeling the prominent cheekbones, soft lips, and sharp jawline of the unconscious figure. He felt the faint but present warm huffs of air from the person's nose. Then there was the blood. So, so much blood. Johnny realized he was kneeling in a puddle of it.</p>
<p>"Oh, god," He breathed. This was Taeyong. It had to be. Even though the room was too dark to see clearly enough, the boy whose head lay limp in his hands could be none other than Taeyong, his gut told him so.</p>
<p>Carefully, he secured one arm under his knees, and one around his shoulders, picking him up as if he weighed nothing. Johnny ran from the room with Taeyong in his arms as the entire hallway collapsed in his wake.</p>
<p>Gasping for air, he took the destroyed path to the surface, just making it out as the entire building began creaking and groaning from the loss of its support system. The deafening crash pushed Johnny forward, sprinting through the crowd of screaming people and desperately hoping that the body he carried would be able to finally breathe.</p>
<p>---------</p>
<p>There Johnny sat, warming his hands with the heat of the flames and looking up at the night sky full of the twinkling of millions of stars, the lights of the city burning in the distance. No one spoke, but the feeling from each one of them translated more than words ever could.</p>
<p>All previous bickering and tension between the group was a distant memory of the past, everyone just happy to have finally left their horrible life behind, content to lay under the stars with the people they had grown up with, trained with, persevered through hell with. </p>
<p>Johnny smiled, a sense of relief filling his chest as he sat quietly, yet his heart still panged with worry. He looked over to a little past the fire, where a body was lying in the soft grass.</p>
<p>A makeshift blanket was thrown over him that really didn't do much to help against the low temperature of the night air. Standing up from his relaxed position, Johnny walked over to the sleeping person and settled himself close enough to reach a hand out and brush the hair back from the boy's face. </p>
<p>Taeyong's peaceful expression helped soothe the ache of Johnny's heart, watching as he breathed in deep in his sleep, eyelashes fluttering in the wake of some dream holding him captive from the conscious world. Softly, Johnny rubbed his thumb up and down Taeyong's cheek, comforted with the fact that after everything they had been through, they were both here, alive and free.</p>
<p>After a quick stop at some medical stores, Ten and Johnny had managed to procure some supplies they could use to close up Taeyong's wound before the bleeding got worse. While still unconscious, they treated his side and wrapped it tightly with bandages. They did a pretty good job for the meager supplies they were able to obtain if Johnny did say so himself, and Ten was not above bragging about his medical skills to the rest of them, earning a few laughs and annoyed eyerolls that helped lighten the mood. Johnny continued to carry Taeyong on his back as the crew hiked as far away from the city as they were able. Taeyong hadn't woken up once.</p>
<p>But now as Johnny sat there by Taeyong's side, the faintest of sounds could be heard from the boy as his eyes opened slightly. Vision still hazy and head swimming, it took several minutes for Taeyong to adjust, all the while Johnny knelt over him, talking happily and whispering encouragements. It took too much energy to try and process what he was saying, but Taeyong didn't care, he was just happy to see those familiar brown eyes gazing at him like he was the only person in the world at that moment.</p>
<p>"Joh...Johnny?" His voice was raspy and it hurt to speak, but just saying his name was enough to overwhelm Johnny with joy, causing an involuntary laugh to bubble within his chest. </p>
<p>"Yeah, It's me, Yongie," Johnny grinned, "How are you feeling? We were all so worried."</p>
<p>Taeyong shook his head lightly, allowing himself to gently be pulled into a sitting position, still relying on Johnny's arm around his shoulders to keep him up straight.</p>
<p>"What..." He looked around, "What happened?"</p>
<p>"Don't worry about that right now. All you need to know is we're safe and--"</p>
<p>"Where's Donghyuck?" Taeyong's panicked voice cut Johnny off, eyes frantically surveying their small campsite and each of the stunned members' faces situated around the fire.</p>
<p>Johnny squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry he's safe, I promise. Just resting."</p>
<p>"Taeyong?" A quiet voice sang out and immediately Taeyong's head whipped to the direction it was coming from.</p>
<p>"Dong--"</p>
<p>A small body slammed into Taeyong, clinging to his chest as if his life depended on it. The small head of soft wavy brown hair was nestled in the crook of Taeyong's neck, and after a brief moment of shock, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around the boy in his lap, holding him securely in his embrace.</p>
<p>"I'm so glad you're okay," Donghyuck whispered, pulling himself impossibly closer to Taeyong like he was going to drift away at any moment.</p>
<p>Taeyong felt light and warm. A tingling sensation rising in his chest as he held the boy. He put his lips on the top of the boy's head, giving Donghyuck a soft kiss and even feeling his throat constrict with the need to cry of relief that the boy was alright. They had gotten to him in time and that was all Taeyong cared about.</p>
<p>Donghyuck lifted his head but still kept his arms wrapped around Taeyong's chest. "Thank you for coming for me." </p>
<p>The sincerity in his round, chocolate brown eyes only pushed Taeyong even more to the edge as he desperately tried to get control of his emotions. He gulped, not trusting himself to speak, and smiled as warmly as he could at Donghyuck before nodding his head in understanding.</p>
<p>As Donghyuck returned to his previous position, hot breath softly brushing the skin of his neck, Taeyong let his tears fall, hiding his face in Donghyuck's hair. He was alive, and for the moment, he would let his body give in to the overwhelming sense of comfort he felt, let himself relax, unwind the taut bowstring that had become a staple in his life. Only later would he allow himself to think of the consequences, reflect on the newly acquired knowledge he gained in that dark room underneath the world's surface. For now, he would simply sit there, hugging the boy trembling in his arms and allowing himself to be held by an even bigger pair of arms, wrapped around the both of them tightly.</p>
<p>He closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh air.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ITS FINALLY FINISHEDDDD YAYYY<br/>I started this story way back in July and i've been procrastinating to finish it ever since :'(((<br/>it's definitely not writing i'm most proud of, but I'm glad you all enjoyed it~<br/>I'm just glad I managed to finish something for once in my life haha :D</p>
<p>again, I would love to read some suggestions or requests of what you all would like to read next, i'm thinking I might do something non-AU related next</p>
<p>hope you all enjoyed this random story I wrote for my friends! <br/>byeeeee &lt;33</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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